


Hearing Howls

by orphan_account



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Origin Story, Alternate Universe, Deaf Character, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Hearing lost, Love Confessions, M/M, Over Protective, Protectiveness, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-09-09 08:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 35,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20282353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Unlike other people who were akumatized, he didn't get to return to everyday life. No. Instead he returned to a much harder and stressful life, he had to adapt to a different world. A much more unforgiving world. Losing your hearing really does put a dapper on things, that included his art. He hasn't been able to make one art peace in months...being akumatized just once was more then enough to lose something so precious. He was taught not to take anything for granted, and he thought he didn't. He thought he followed his parents advise well, he never took anything for granted is what he thought. His sketchbooks, pencils, and trusty laptop, he took care of them all with care....he took his hearing for granted and now he was being punished.





	1. Silence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! thank you so much for giving this a try! i wanted to try something new and it was suggested miraculous ladybug! yeah
> 
> Nathaniel is so cute! I love writing about him! and Adrien! hahaha!!
> 
> some things you'll need to know! the miraculous superheroes all know who eachother are! and it's more like a group now! Ladybug being the leader of cause! haha! Hawk Moth has been defeat! and it's been almost a year now since the beginning of the tv shows. 
> 
> a special thank you to my wonderful beta! AForApostrophe! thank you again!

He was taught not to take anything for granted, and he thought he didn't. He thought he followed his parents advise well, he never took anything for granted is what he thought. His sketchbooks, pencils, and trusty laptop, he took care of them all with care.

He did…he did take things for granted, he learned soon after.

The truth is, he doesn't quite remember when this happened, just that it did. It was a bit of a blur, and honestly, he remembers few small pieces here and there, but nothing detailed enough to understand how this happened. He just knows it had something to do with the time he had been akumatized.

Unlike other people who were akumatized, he didn't get to return to everyday life. No. Instead he returned a returned to a much harder and stressful life, he had to adapt to a different world. A much more unforgiving world.

Nathaniel winced as he felt the familiar small, and smooth object press to his ear. He tried to ignore how close the woman in white was to his side as she looked into his ear. He tried to as still as possible and hope for this to be over with. It's not like they will get any other result. He clenched his sketchbook as his anxiousness built.

He tried to distract himself by mentally deciding on what he was going to sketch. He had much more time to try out new ideas than before, so perhaps that was a small plus for this but his motivation for it had decreased greatly. Even now, he was mapping out a rather interesting idea in his mind but deep inside he truly questioned if he would even bring it to life on the page when he got home. He doubted it.

Nathaniel felt the sigh before he saw it, the woman pulled away. She had a troubled frown on her lips just as he had seen many times before. She straightened her back and slipped her hands into the white pockets of her coat.

He knew she was speaking. He could see her red lips moving but he hardly heard what she was saying. His ears only picked up silence, and on occasion, a low sound low sound.

Nathaniel bit his bottom lip. He looked down at his sketchbook. It wasn't used for drawing nowadays, mostly used for him to somehow voice his thoughts to his parents or the doctor.

Nathaniel looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It's his mother. She's looking down at him with pity eyes. They made his stomach clench with an inky feeling.

'It's not coming back, is it?' he wrote shakily.

A brief expression of total sadness crossed his mother's face before that same pity look returns. She tried to mouth words to him, but Nathaniel turned away. There was no use in trying to read lips, Nathaniel couldn't even figure out the difference been 'hello' and 'cat'.

At least he wasn't completely deaf. He was partially deaf. Every now and then he would hear a low sound, and sometimes a word…maybe it was a sign. A sign that his hearing could return, right? However, that was a wistful thought, it had been almost six months since he lost his hearing and other than the low sounds, there was no other sign that his hearing could return.

He didn't have to look up at the doctor to know she was giving his parents the bad news, or the same news really…the doctors couldn't figure out how this happened, but they were still trying to figure it out.

Nathaniel held his sketchbook to his chest. He felt a vibration run across the floor, and tingled along his feet. He slowly peered back over his shoulder to find only his mother still in the room and his father gone.

He grimaced. It was especially hard for his dad.

His mum tried to smile encouragingly at him, but Nathaniel could see the redness around her eyes. His father must have said something again, it must have upset his mum again. It wasn't always like that, it had just become that due to this…situation.

Nathaniel followed his mum out. His head was low, and he just watched his feet. There was nothing. He heard nothing. His eyes watched the back of his mum's feet, following them as they walked. By chance, Nathaniel glanced up and noticed the sympathy on other people's faces. He had to look back down.

Nathaniel couldn't stand that look. The look of sympathy.

His dad is waiting in the car. He is smoking a cigar and looked just as tired as his mother.

Nobody understood how simply being akumatized had resulted in his hearing lost. Not when so many other people had been akumatized as well, and none of them had lost their hearing.

Why him? Why was it him who lost something like this?

~#~#~#~#~

Nathaniel sat at his desk. He had his trusty sketchbook open, with his laptop the side. He sighed deeply as he tapped his pencil against the blank page. He couldn't draw. He couldn't figure out how to get the map out of his brain. Not like how he used to…not like how it was before, before he was akumatized. Before he became that.

He pushed a bright red lock out of his face and chewed at his cheek. He finally dropped the pencil and tried to imagine what the thud of the pencil sounded like. He had heard it thousands of times before, over and over, it was something he should know. Should remember. But he doesn't, and it frustrated him.

Nathaniel covered his ears. He hunched his shoulders as his fingers brush along the skin of his face, and then he pressed down. He could feel the pressure, he could feel his skin sticking and when he pulled them away, he felt it. He felt the pop but he didn't hear the pop.

Nathaniel sat at the desk, his body shook and he inhaled sharply. He breathed in so sharply that his nose burned. He felt a cold breeze of the outside world, and turned to look at his opened window. He watched the curtains dance, he could almost hear the way they flapped in the wind, almost.

It was night now. The moon was high in the sky, above the still buzzing city of Paris.

Nathaniel moved from the desk to his window, crawling onto his bed and using to prop himself up against the window. He stared outside, and wished he could still hear the way the city buzzed about at night. He used to. He used to listen to it every night, the laughter of people, the flashing sounds of cars and sometimes the battles of Ladybug.

It was just silence. Nothing else.

Nathaniel was scared he was forgetting. Forgetting what everything sounded like. He even doesn't remember what his parents' voices were like. Six months without any sound really affected him. He wasn't able to create one piece of work. Instead he spent his time either trying to read a book (he gave up as the silence of it made him want to cry) or just tinkering around on his laptop. There was also sign language he had taken upon himself to try and learn.

He wondered what Ladybug was up to. Was she still saving people from being akumatized? Had she finally defeated Hawk Moth? Nathaniel had no idea, he couldn't keep up with anything now.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump. He practically jumped out of skin as the hand fell onto his shoulder, he probably even let out a startled yelp. Nathaniel spun his head around with wide eyes to look at his mum.

He clearly had not heard her come in. His heart was beating painfully in his chest as he tried to will himself to calm down. He shifted around to look fully at his mum, wondering why she had entered when normally she didn't.

Once they had eaten dinner, and he had gone to his room, neither of his parents bothered him anymore. They both seemed to avoid him round this time, Nathaniel didn't know what they did but he had a feeling they did not spend time together anymore. He thinks his dad leaves the house.

His mum smiled. She cupped his cheek, and brushed her thumb along the skin. She pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, before beckoned to follow her.

He followed her through the tiny house to the kitchen. He was surprised to find his dad sitting at the kitchen table, there was a notepad in front him and he was clenching a pen so tightly that his hand flushed white.

In the middle of the table was a white box. It looked medical based. Nathaniel had no doubt it probably came from their doctor. He had a feeling he knew what it might be. He wasn't quite sure what he felt about it.

Nathaniel then awkwardly falls into his chair across from his parents. It was a bit odd to have both his parents sitting in front of him like this. He felt like a cornered wolf. He shrunk in his chair, and hunched his shoulders high. He held his sketchbook tightly with his fingers twitching around the pencil.

His mother reached across the table and gently touched his hand. She had that comforting smile on her lips, but her eyes were so sad.

'Nathaniel, we have been talking and we both agreed it is about time you should return to collège,' his father scribbled down.

Nathaniel stared at the black ink. He bites his bottom lip harshly as he thought about returning to collège. He had no doubt people will be staring at him, talking about him behind his back. He was the outcast after all, Chloe had targeted him for a reason.

Collège. He hadn't been in collège for six months, not since he had woken up from being akumatized and not being able to hear. His parents had pulled him out until his hearing was returned, which clearly had not happened.

'We believe it's about time that we just accept this. The doctors we have consulted were unable to determine just how this happened,'

Nathaniel watched as his father suddenly began to speak. He could tell from the way his father's face scrolled up that he was yelling in anger. The pen looked like it was about to creak from under his pressure, but then his mother had quickly placed a hand onto the man's arm and had said something.

His father paused. He breathed in deeply to calm himself and then nodded in return.

'We have to accept that you have this handicap and move on. It's time to return to our lives. We believe the first step is returning to collège,' his mother had written this time.

Unlike his father's furious scribbles, his mother's writing was much smoother and almost calmly. It was completely different, his mother was sad about the situation while his father was just angry.

Nathaniel's eyes lowered. He stared while chewing his bottom lip, watching as his mother gently passed the white box to him. He simply stared at the box for a good few minutes before he finally slid the top off to peer inside. There were two identical small white objects encased in more white.

'They are hearing-aids. Doctor Lowie said using them, you might be able to mildly hear again,' his mother wrote.

Nathaniel swallowed a thick lump. He stared at the objects before he took his sketchbook, and opened it to a blank page. His hand shook as he took his pencil and lightly pressed it to the page.

'Mildly?' he wrote slowly and carefully.

His father clenched his teeth together. He crossed his arms firmly over his chest, and hunched back in his chair. Nathaniel could almost see the steam coming from the top of his head, it made his stomach coil.

His mother frowned. She looked down, her red hair covering her face for a split second. She then reached for the pad and began to write slowly and neatly.

'The doctor said there is no guarantee that the hearing aids will work, but there is a chance it will assist your hearing a bit. She said considering you have been hearing low sounds, you might be able to hear some things better,' she showed him the pad with a weak, but hopeful smile.

Nathaniel couldn't bring himself to be hopeful. Instead he just nodded.

It looked like his father was about to say something, his mouth opened but then it shut. His eyes narrowed and then he snatched the pen out of his mother's hand, he pressed the tip of the pen harshly against the paper that Nathaniel winced. Just as it looked like his father was about to write something, he instead dropped the pen and then stood up.

Nathaniel felt the horrible scrapping of the kitchen chair. He nervously peered up at his father, and watched as he stormed out. Probably leaving the house like Nathaniel had ordinarily expected.

His mother was hunched over the chair. Her face in her hands for a good amount of minutes before she looked up at him. Her red hair was a mess, and her face pale.

'You should rest, Ma,' Nathaniel wrote, 'You look unwell.'

A sweet smile crossed her rosy face. She gently wrapped an arm around Nathaniel's shoulders, and kissed him on the temple.

'You shouldn't be worrying about me,' she wrote, 'I'm sure there are more important things to be worrying about.'

Nathaniel clicked his tongue. He ran his eyes across the words and then peered back up into her face. He observed how tired she was, and couldn't help but feel the worry inside him built. She wasn't nowhere near this tired or sad before he was akumatized. It was his fault. It's always his fault.

'Doctor Lowie was so kind to bring the hearing aids over. We should thank her next time we see her,' his mother wrote.

He looked back at the box with the hearing aids. He carefully pulled the box closer to himself with his free hand. The hearing aids was white, and looked like they hooked over the back of his ears. They looked a bit bigger than the other ones he had seen, with small orange dots covering the back of them. They looked smooth to touch.

'Anyway sweetie, you should get to bed. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow,' she wrote, 'Better rest up for collège in the morning.'

Nathaniel carefully balanced both objects in his arms. He got to his feet, and made his way back to his bedroom. It didn't take him long as the house was tiny. He used to be able to hear everything in his house, even the neighbours. He used to stay up late sketching while listening to the old ladies' murder mystery series next door. It was so loud through the thin wall.

He missed it.

Entering his room, he placed the box onto the desk and then returned to his window. He dropped his sketchbook onto the bed next to him and shoveled back up to the window to stare back out the window. He remembered the times before he was akumatized, he would sit at the window and day dream.

He would day dream about all sorts of things. Mostly involving Ladybug, fighting bad guys, saving the day and being a super hero. He remembered how excited it would become, how gleeful he felt when he would sketch out all the thing his mind would conjure up.

However over the months, Nathaniel had slowly given it all up. Even his crush on Ladybug had dissolved over those months. Sure, he still wondered if she was still fighting and saving Paris, but that was it.

Nathaniel never wanted to make himself a superhero, not anymore. He no longer wanted to fight alongside Ladybug and save Paris. He just wanted…wanted to try and live his life, the best he could now that everything had changed. Had become that much more complicated.

He sighed deeply to himself. He crossed his arms over the windowsill and buried his face into his arms.

~#~#~#~#~

Nathaniel was deep in sleep, when he felt something lightly tug on his hair. His sleep filled mind didn't think anything off it, he even reached up and swiped at anything on his hair. Once he felt nothing else tug on his hair, his hand dropped.

He snuggled further into his arms, ready to allow his mind to dive back into the sleep-filled blankets when he felt another small tug on his hair. Nathaniel made a groan, and scratched at the spot where his hair was being tugged. He thought it had to the cold breeze of Paris.

Nathaniel slowly raised his head after it happened again. He made a wide yawn, and rubbed his face. He turned his head, expecting to see his mother. She probably came in to check on him, and found him sleeping at his window again. She most likely was trying to wake him up as to get him to move bed.

Nothing.

He turned around and found nothing. Nobody else was in his room. He blinked slowly, and rubbed his tired eyes. He must have dreamt it, or something. He yawned once more. Nathaniel peered blurrily at the small clock next to his bed. It read 3:00 AM.

A frown appeared across his lips. What had woken him up? He shrugged, and stretched his arms out. It felt good to stretch his muscles out, especially after being in the same position for such a long time. He might as well get into bed.

With that in mind, Nathaniel pulled his window close and then climbed off. He blurrily peered around his room. He blinked upon seeing his sketchbook open. He swore he had closed it, but maybe it had opened when he dropped it onto his bed. His desk was a bit out of order as well he noticed, he swore he didn't leave out his old sketchbook like that. Even the sign language book were a mess.

Nathaniel scratched at his head as he ran his eyes over the mess on his desk. When he got closer to the desk, he blinked down at the open box revealing his new hearing aids. He lightly closed the box lid and once again looked around his room.

Had…had somebody somehow got into his room while he was sleeping?

Nathaniel shook his head. He was being ridiculous, it was most likely his mum. He didn't like it when she snooped through his things, looked at his art but he knew she did it. She did it a lot during those 6 months.

He then began to change into his pyjamas, he was focused on changing into his pyjamas that he didn't notice something moving around his room. It was moving slowly, and working carefully to avoid being seen by the orange-haired teenager.

However when the thing had tried to squeeze into the wardrobe, Nathaniel turned around by chance and saw the wardrobe move. He froze, staring at his small, hand-down wardrobe in shock.

Had he really seen the wardrobe doors move? Could it have been his sleep deprived mind making things up?

Nathaniel wasn't sure of what to do. Should he go wake up his parents? Get his dad? Something had broken into his room and was now hiding in his wardrobe.

What should he do?

He looked around himself, looking for something to defeat himself. His hands shook as he found nothing he could use. He had nothing. Only artistic tools, pencils, pens, paints, paper and such. Nothing that was big enough to do anything.

Nathaniel inhaled sharply. He bit down on his bottom lip and inched closer to the wardrobe doors. He had blindly grabbed the closest thing to him which happened to be a blunt pencil, but it was better than nothing.

Whatever happened to him can't be worse than what has already happened. Being akumatized made him lose his hearing, made him deaf. He wasn't worried about anything else happening to him.

So, Nathaniel breathed in sharply. He clenched his eyes shut and grabbed ahold of the wardrobe handle. He clenched it tightly, his hand trembling for a good five seconds and finally, he pulled it open.

Large round ruby eyes stared back into blue eyes.

Nathaniel stared. His face becoming white, with his jaw slack. He held the wardrobe handle with a weak hand, his arm felt numb. His mind was reeling at what he was seeing. At what was right in his face, a mere foot from him.

It was like everything around him had been frozen in time.

After what felt an eternity, but really was a couple of minutes, Nathaniel's mind caught up. His eyes widened even further, and his mouth gapped like fish. His lips forming the word 'what' over and over as he backed away. He then proceeded to slam the wardrobe door shut, hoping to lock the thing away.

Nathaniel then backed away, keeping his blue eyes on the wardrobe. He was half hoping that if he pretended he didn't see it, it would disappear. However the door shuttered, almost like something had pumped into it on the other side.

His heart was beating so loudly that it was making his head spin.

The doors then sprung open, and a blur of white shot towards him. Nathaniel stumbled back as the small warm, fuzzy and white slammed into his face. He fell back onto his backside with a hiss of pain. The little thing was holding onto his face like its life depended on it, which it probably did.

Nathaniel's eyes widened, he could only see bright red eyes gazing at him. They were so close to his, that Nathaniel felt dizzy.

They both just sat there, completely still. Their eyes were just staring into each other.

Nathaniel's nose was beginning to itch, and the familiar feeling of pressure began to build up behind the bridge of nose. The pressure built and built until Nathaniel couldn't keep it in.

He sneezed. He sneezed harshly, so harshly that his face tightened up in pain.

The little white thing might have squealed in shock, but Nathaniel wasn't sure. However it did tumble backward through the air, while wiggling back and forth. It's tiny arms and legs kicking about as it somersaulted through the air.

It wiggled upside down for a good couple of seconds. Nathaniel stared at it in shock, watching as it finally righted itself up. Its tiny hands patting along its fuzzy face and blinking its bright red slit eyes, before finally it looked at Nathaniel.

Unlike what Nathaniel was expecting, it waved energetically at the poor kid.

It seemed harmless. Or at least, Nathaniel hoped so anyway.

Bright blue eyes looked around himself anxiously. Nathaniel grabbed his sketchbook, and flipped it open to a blank page. He then scribbled down on the paper, and as he was about to hold it up to the thing, it landed on top of the paper.

'What are you?'

The little white thing tilted its head as it read what Nathaniel had written. It rubbed its head as it took in the words before it grinned widely, and reached for one of the spare pencils. It held the pencil with both arms as it scribbled its answer.

'Hi! I am a Kwami!'

Nathaniel could almost hear the excitement in the words. He blinked slowly, and then reached down with his pencil.

'What's a Kwami?' he had asked.

The tiny Kwami looked like it laughed. It looked up at Nathaniel with its large red eyes, and pointed at itself.

'I'm a Kwami!'

Nathaniel snorted. He rolled his eyes, but felt his lips form a tiny smile. The small white thing really wasn't that scary now he was looking at it. It looked almost dog-like, almost. It had a tail that stuck out and then curled inward, with a pair of large ears on top of its head. Its fur was completely white with a dusting of orange dots across its back, and the tip of ears and its tail. The red eyes definitely stood out the most.

'Are you a dog?' he asked.

The Kwami pouted. It shook its head furiously.

'What! A dog! How dare you! I am a wolf! A wolf' it scribbled furiously before hunching its head back, and looking like it was howling.

Nathaniel gasped. He reached forward, and held a finger to his lips. He shushed the tiny wolf.

'Shh. You can't make so much noise at this time of night!' Nathaniel explained hurriedly.

The small wolf rubbed its chin, its orange toted ears folded, and it bowed its head in apology. It then reached for the pencil once more, it began to write across the page with a grin or what looked like a grin.

'My name is Kurfee!' it introduced itself.

Nathaniel smiled. He nodded his head, 'Hi Kurfee. My name is Nathaniel. It's a pleasure to meet you, but where exactly did you come from?' he wrote.

Kurfee's tail wiggled side to side, 'From there,' he then used the pencil to point at the desk.

The red headed looked at the desk in confusion. What did Kurfee mean? Just where on his desk did he come from. Nathaniel got to his feet, and made his way to the desk. He couldn't see anything. Only his art supplies, books and the box with the hearing aids in.

He scratched at his head in confusion.

Swiftly, Kurfee floated past him. He then landed on top of the hearing aid box and throw his arms out as if to say 'ta-da!'.

Nathaniel stared with wide ocean blue eyes. He blinked once then twice.

"My hearing aids?" he mouthed, or probably even said. He wasn't sure. He couldn't hear anything, but his mouth moved on its own.

Kurfee nodded its head with a large grin. Its small white paws on its fluffy hips. It then gestured to the hearing aids, moving its fluffy paws between the hearing aids and Nathaniel. Its ruby eyes sparkled brightly up at the red head.

Nathaniel blinked slowly. He stared down at the hearing aid, and noticed it had the same pattern of Kurfee's fur. White with orange tots. He breathed in sharply, and carefully picked one of the hearing aids up.

He observed the small, ear-bud like objects awkwardly. He then proceeded to put them into his ears. He swallowed a thick lump in throat, anxiousness filled him at the thought of maybe hearing something. Anything.

Kurfee wiggled its small fluffy tail as it zipped closer to Nathaniel's face. It then moved to each of the hearing aids, and flicking them on.

It was odd feeling something heavy in his ears. He knew he would probably get used to them after sometime, but it was still weird. It was just strange. They felt a little warm honestly.

Nathaniel stared into Kurfee's red eyes nervously. He bit his bottom lip. Having the hearing aids in, nothing really changed honestly. He felt the familiar flame of hope being dashed as he sat down on his knees.

Kurfee followed him. He floated in front of Nathaniel's face with a smile.

"Well?" a soft but a little grotty voice spoke.

Nathaniel blinked furiously in shock. He opened and shut his mouth in disbelief.

"I…I…w-what?" he mumbled before wincing.

Oh god. His voice. It sounded like it was underwater, he barely was unable to hear it but yet Kurfee…he had heard Kurfee's voice loud and clear.

Why is his own voice so distorted?

But still, his heart skipped a beat at being able to hear something!

"Hi!" Kurfee squealed with a bright smile, "You can hear me!"

Nathaniel only nodded his head. His mouth was hanging open in shock. It had been six months. Six full months of nothing but silence, of the strange random sounds that he couldn't rely on. He felt his eyes heat up.

Well, Kurfee was definitely a guy. Judging from voice alone.

"Yes!" Nathaniel blurred out.

It was so strange. Kurfee was so clear, but his own voice was fuzzy. Distorted.

Kurfee grinned widely. He rubbed his large fluffy white cheeks. His tail wiggling with his large eyes shimmering.

"Nat, you're my chosen one! Those hearing aids is our miraculouses! It will have the ability to change you, with my help, into a superhero to help save Paris!" Kurfee explained cutely.

Nathaniel stared. Immediately his stomach dropped. A superhero? No. He doesn't want to be one. That had basically been the course of everything. Slowly he reached up and touched his ear at the thought.

"N-No," he mumbled, trying not to wince, "Kurfee, I-I don't want to be a-a superhero…you got the wrong person."

Kurfee paused in air. His red eyes widened before his fluffy ears folded. He then slowly dropped onto Nathaniel's lap, and smiled sadly. He then reached forward and patted his tiny white paw against Nathaniel's hand.

"Oh," Kurfee mumbled, "But that's okay. We can still stay together."

Nathaniel blinked. He then smiled, and nodded his head. He was an outcast. He had no friends. He was bullied day in and day out. Chloe made his life miserable. It made him feel good to have a friend, even if his friend was a tiny strange floating wolf.

"O-Okay."

~#~#~#~#~

Nathaniel felt like he was going to faint. Any moment, he felt like he was about to fall face first. He kept his head down as he followed the teacher through the familiar corridors of the college. It felt like a life time since he had been at collège.

Nothing had changed at all.

Nathaniel had woken up this morning feeling refreshed but worried for the day. At first he thought Kurfee had been just a dream, until he found the small white wolf snoozing away on his pillow. He couldn't help but smile upon seeing how big the saliva bubble he had created in his sleep.

It was only his mother waiting for him at the kitchen table. Nathaniel didn't even bother asking where his dad was. Instead he sat with his mum, and ate pancakes with orange juice. His mother had almost cried when he gestured that he was able to hear, not very well but it was better than nothing.

Kurfee had hidden in his bag, after deciding to come to collège with him. Not before stuffing his small face with lemons… Nathaniel couldn't believe the little wolf liked them. They were too sour for his liking.

"Monsieur Kurtzberg?" his teacher's distorted voice made Nathaniel jump.

He was so used to the silence, that with the hearing aids help, everything seemed to be making him jump startled. He swallowed and looked up at his teacher with nervous blue eyes. He unconsciously hugged his sketchbook closer to his chest. He remembered all the times the very same teacher had threated to throw the book away.

The teacher looked down at the small male with soft eyes, oddly. Nathaniel supposed it was only natural that his mother had informed the collège of him only getting his hearing aids yesterday, and was still getting used to them.

"Monsieur Kurtzberg? Are you alright?" the teacher asked.

Nathaniel squirted his eyes. Even with the hearing aids, he tried to pay extra attention to her mouth, just to make sure he understood what she was saying.

He opened his mouth to reply but changed his mind. He didn't like hearing his voice, so he nodded his head. He was fine, or at least, fine as a boy like him could be. It was then that he realized the two had stopped in front of a familiar door.

The door to his class.

Nathaniel stared at the door. His mouth suddenly dry. He could almost feel the eyes on the other side. He hated being the centre of attention, he couldn't handle it. He didn't want to be the centre of attention, especially not the attention of his class.

"Monsieur Kurtzberg, please wait here," she said.

He watched with buckling knees as his teacher walked through the door.

"Nat?" a small voice whispered.

The voice was clear as day to his ears and he felt a chill run up his spin. He quickly looked down at his shoulder back to find Kurfee peering up at him through the small opening. A tiny worried frown on his face.

Nathaniel breathed in softly. He forced a strain smile, "I-I'm okay," he said and flinched.

Oh how he was beginning to hate his voice.

Kurfee purred softly. He rubbed his head against Nathaniel's hand.

"Everything will ok-ay!" Kurfee encouraged, "You'll see. Everything will très bien!"

Nathaniel nodded his head. He breathed out gently, and smiled. Kurfee was right. Everything should be fine. The day will be over before he knew it, he will be back at home in his room and bonding with Kurfee. That's what he wanted to do more than anything.

He wanted to get to know Kurfee more. He had never seen such a small thing like him before. He was generally curious.

"Monsieur Kurtzberg?"

Nathaniel jumped. He spun around to find his teacher leaning out the door. Kurfee buried himself back into the bag before anybody could see him.

Nathaniel swallowed. A twitchy smile appeared across his lips, and he sheepishly shifted on his feet. He held his sketchbook tightly to his chest. Pressing it firmly into his chest as he looked up at his teacher.

"Are you ready?" the teacher spoke slowly and carefully.

He glanced at the class door and then back to his teacher. Nathaniel stood still for a good few minutes before he finally nodded. He was ready, or at least, as ready as he'll ever be.

The teacher smiled. She turned back to the door and held it open for Nathaniel to enter. He could see a few curious faces.

"Monsieur Kurtzberg."

Nathaniel inhaled sharply. He clicked tongue and tightened his grip on his sketchbook. He straightened his back, and weakly began to walk into the class. He kept his eyes down at his feet as he walked in, he couldn't handle looking up and see all his classmates staring at him.

He hated this.

Why couldn't he have gotten into the classroom before everyone else?

He could feel the teacher's hand on the small of his back. She was guiding him further into the class, almost like she could sense how nervous he was.

"I hope everyone will welcome monsieur Kurtzberg back," she spoke.

Nathaniel bit back a pout. He peered through the thick red hair, he felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing his classmates staring at him. He awkwardly shifted on his feet. His hands were beginning to sweat.

"Monsieur Kurtzberg, is there anything you'd like to say?" his teacher questioned.

Nathaniel peered up at her. He then bravely lifted his head to look at his class, everyone looked the same other than a few new hair styles or cuts, but nothing seriously new. Everyone was staring at him with curious eyes.

Pity eyes.

He then nodded his head. With a shaky hand, he opens his sketchbook and then writes across a blank page. He held it up for the class to read.

'I'm partially deaf, my hearing aids are new and I am still getting used to them. Please be patient with me.'

It is the basic information his mother suggested writing. It wasn't like he was expecting anybody to give him any attention anyway.

"Partially deaf? What do you mean, partly?" a distorted voice suddenly chimed.

Nathaniel winced. The way the voice high pitched and buzzed in his ears made him whimper. With his free hand, he covered his ear as if to check that his hearing aid was still in place. He then looked at the owner of the voice, and wasn't surprised to find Chloe staring at him in disgust.

She looked almost exactly the same, only that now she was wearing yellow. A lot of yellow unlike the pink he remembered her always wearing. Her ponytail also looked like it was more curled then normally.

Sabrina sheepishly leaned towards Chloe, "Chloe, people who are partially deaf are able to hear some sounds, sometimes word…hearing aids help a lot," she explained with a sweet smile.

Chloe snorted, "I knew that!" she snapped and turned her head. The way she turned her head, made her ponytail flick into Sabrina's face.

"O-Oh," Sabrina mumbled, "You're so smart!"

Nathaniel not really hearing the two girls well, only shrugged to himself. He closed his sketchbook and then held it close to himself again. He then looked at his teacher in hopes she'll allow him go to his lonely desk now.

He recalled him being the only one without a desk mate. Everyone else was paired up, but him. He was by himself, all the time. Before it didn't matter to him much, he could try and draw in peace…well sort of. His teacher always caught him but still…

He won't be doing that in class now. Not just that he just can't find the will to draw like he did, but now that he can't hear probably, he had to pay extra attention just to understand what was happening.

"Alright Monsieur Kurtzberg," his teacher spoke, "You may sit down now."

Nathaniel let out a breath of relief. He quickly walked to his desk. It wasn't completely in the back, but close to it. He quickly sat down, and tried not to pay any of attention to the wondering eyes. His cheeks were darkening as he sat down.

He carefully placed his bag down onto the chair next to him. He smiled as Kurfee peered up at him, and winked at him before digging further into the bag. Nathaniel then opened his sketchbook, and took his pencil.

Nathaniel tried his best to pay attention. It was a difficult as he heard some words but missed others. But he did his best thought. He only let out a deep breath of relief when the lesson was over, and his classmates were beginning to get up from their desks.

He stayed at his desk and waited until everyone was gone. He didn't want to put up with any questions or being propped. He didn't want to run into Chloe either. Nathaniel could only imagine what she would say about his situation.

Nathaniel‘s body tensed. He flung his head up in surprise when he felt a hand fall on his shoulder. His blue eyes large and wide with fear. Fear that Chloe had decided to come back into the classroom to pick on him again.

"Hey, Nathaniel," the watery voice said.

Nathaniel blinked once then twice. His heart was beating heavily in his chest as he stared up at them. His eyebrows raised briefly upon seeing the two familiar females standing over his desk, both had small smiles.

Strange smiles. Smiles that made him almost whimper.

Pity?

Those smiles were guilty. They pitied him.

Nathaniel nodded.

Alya laughed, "Sorry if we surprised you. We thought we'd say hello, right Marinette?" she said and nudged the girl next to her.

He peered between the two. He squirted up at Alya's lips as she spoke. He was able to fill in the small gaps of her speech to figure out just what she's saying.

"Hello Nathaniel," Marinette said with a small wave, "I wrote some notes…just in case if you need them, not that you probably do, I mean…"

Nathaniel stared at her. She was still a nervous person who rambled a lot, and he wondered if she was still a klutz. Both Alya and Marinette looked the same as they did six months ago.

Alya's hair was still curly and wavy, the red highlights she had still made her amber eyes stand out. Nathaniel noticed she was wearing a new necklace charm, it almost looked like a fox tail. He wasn't quite sure. She seemed to be a bit taller though, and wore mostly red and orange it would seem.

Marinette's hair was longer, it reached just below her shoulders now but she kept it up in the stranded pigtails. She looked exactly the same, her red and black earrings standing out the most. Her clothes were the same colour.

Both had that smile.

Nathaniel’s eyes dropped to the paper in Marinette's hands. He awkwardly shifted, and slowly got to his feet. His right hand immediately moving to his sketchbook, while his other went lay lightly over his shoulder bag.

"If you don't want them, then I understand! They're probably not that great anyway," Marinette rambled.

Alya frowned. She nudged Marinette again, making said girl yelp.

It was strange. Neither girl ever gave him the time of day before. They definitely were pitying him. He was kind of expecting this throughout the day, and probably for the next few weeks. He just wanted people to go back to ignoring him. It was easier…

Even if Chloe did find out about his old crush on Ladybug and mock him for it. That was the only time he had any attention and that had led to him being akumatized in the first time.

"What she means is, we took down some extra notes and they're yours if you want them," Alya said.

Marinette held the papers out to him.

'Nat, take them,' a voice whispered into his ears.

Nathaniel tensed up further. His eyes widened briefly, and he quickly took the papers. He glanced at his bag, did he just hear Kurfee? It sounded like Kurfee, but if he had heard the small white wolf, then surely so had Alya and Marinette, but neither female showed any signs of hearing him.

He opened his mouth to speak, to thank them for the notes. He almost went to when he remembered what his voice sounded like. Instead he clamped his mouth shut and opened his sketchbook to a random page. He quickly scribbled a thank you across the paper.

He honestly just wanted to leave. He wanted to be by himself already.

Alya grinned widely, "Well, we'll see you around Nathaniel," she winked.

Nathaniel nodded. He slowly walked along behind them until they got to the door. Marinette paused and waved at him before she and Alya began to walk down the corridor.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Marinette said quietly.

The red head stared at after them. He watched as they leaned closer to one another, Alya leaning towards Marinette. She seemed to have said something that made Marinette sad. The dark-haired girl sighed deeply and shook her head, speaking in return to Alya who frowned as well. Both then looked back at him, and waved when they noticed he was still watching.

Nathaniel awkwardly waved in return.

~#~#~#~#~

Finally the day was over. Nathaniel sat down on his bed with a sigh. He ran a hand through his hair, his fingers lightly brushing over his hearing aids. They had really helped. He was able to hear better than normally.

Just as he thought, everyone had collège had treated him with pity. It got worse when he came home to his tired mother excitedly waiting to hear about his day. She wanted to know everything, how people were treating him, how his teachers were, how happy 'he was to see his friends' again and Nathaniel couldn't help but notice his dad had still not returned home.

He loved his mum, he did, but sometimes she was a bit too overbearing. It had gotten worse since he became partially deaf.

Now was the first time this day he had time to himself. His mother had finally allowed him to ascent to his bedroom, not before reminding him that he had to charge his hearing aids up.

"Nat!" a familiar shrilly voice.

Nathaniel smiled as Kurfee crawled out of his bag. The little wolf wiggled its tail as it floated close to Nathaniel's face, a bright grin appearing across its fluffy face.

"Kurfee," Nathaniel said.

"Nat, is our miraculous working alright?" Kurfee questioned. He floated closer to Nathaniel's ear to look at the hearing aids in question.

Nathaniel let out a soft giggle when he felt Kurfee's fluffy body brush against his skin.

"They're working fine," Nathaniel said, "I'm able to hear things better, hear more things…"

Kurfee nodded his head furiously.

Nathaniel watched as Kurfee began to look around his bedroom again, "Hey Kurfee, why is it I'm able to hear you so clear, but my own voice and other people's voices are so…" he trailed off with a flinch.

"Distorted?" Kurfee piped, "The reason you can hear me is because the hearing aids is my miraculous. My power is in them."

"And today? When you told me to take the notes, nobody else heard you?" Nathaniel added, "And what power do you mean?"

Kurfee hummed. He sat himself onto Nathaniel's lap, "Through our miraculous, we have a connection. I can speak to you without anybody hearing me if I want! It's all sound based! Haha!" he giggled.

"Sound?" Nathaniel mumbled.

How ironic. Kurfee's power is all sound, and yet Nathaniel is partially deaf.

"If you transform then-" Kurfee began eagerly.

Nathaniel shook his head, "N-No Kurfee. I-I don't want to be a superhero," he sighed, "I'm not the right person to save lives or anything."

Kurfee pouted. He crossed his tiny paws but didn't push it, "Alright, alright," he said.

"So where did you come from Kurfee?" Nathaniel questioned.

"I told you already," Kurfee squealed with a pout, "I came from my miraculous!"

Nathaniel touched the hearing aids, "Yes. I know, the hearing aids," he said, "But mum said the hearing aids came from our doctor, so how could you have been inside them?"

He really didn't understand. But he wanted to know though.

Kurfee let out another giggle. His fluffy white ears twitching, "We didn't come from a doctor! The oracle sent us!" he giggled.

"The oracle?" Nathaniel raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah! There are many, many Kwamis!" Kurfee said brightly, "Every culture has different Kwamis."

Nathaniel quietly turned the new information over in his mind, "S-So what culture are you from? France?" he asked.

It was the most logical thought. The two was in Paris after all.

"Nooopppeee," Kurfee grinned, "I am, or at least from what I was told, I'm from Greece. I am not French!"

Nathaniel smiled, "Me neither, technically.

Kurfee lightly patted Nathaniel on the hand with his tiny paw, "Though there are quite a few Kwamis around here. I sensed a couple during collège," he stated as he put a paw to his chin in thought, "I wonder what ones they were?"

"W-Wait," Nathaniel gasped, "What do you mean you sensed a couple through collège?"

Kurfee peered up at Nathaniel, "When there was a lot of people in that room. I sensed other Kwamis about. They're very powerful Kwamis as well…I wonder if they sensed me," he said thoughtfully.

"Can they?" Nathaniel asked.

Kurfee nodded his fluffy head, "All Kwamis can sense one another. They probably did sense me? Or thought I was one of the other ones, they must know each other."

"Nat!" Kurfee gasped out, his high-picthed voice making Nathaniel wince, "Are there any heroes around Paris?"

Nathaniel sat there for a long minute. His mind was turning as he thought about the fact there were other Kwamis around, and that apparently with the miraculous, one can transform into a superhero when suddenly something clicked. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"L- Ladybug!" he gasped, "She must have a miraculous, and a Kwami. She must go to my collège…"

Kurfee stared up at Nathaniel, "But Ladybug is just one person. I sensed more than one Kwami!" he chimed.

"As far as I know, there is only Ladybug and Chat Noir. I've been out of commission for a few months…so there could be more now…I wouldn't know…" Nathaniel explained nervously.

Kurfee nodded, "We can find out tomorrow! At collège!" he said excitedly.

"T-Tomorrow…" Nathaniel breathed out shakily, "T-That means talking to people…I don't know…"

Kurfee tilted his head, "What's wrong Nat? With the miraculous, you're able to hear people! And there's nothing wrong with your speech! You can talk to people and find out if there is anybody else besides Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

Nathaniel flinched. But why? What was the point in finding out if there was anybody else? It wasn't like it would affect him or Kurfee, right? It was just so hard for him to get his head around. He doesn't want to become a superhero anymore, but it was just so nice to have a friend. A friend like Kurfee, and he hasn't been able to talk properly with somebody in 6 months.

He knew Ladybug and Chat Noir had to be in his class, but what would happen if he finds out their identities? What would happen if they find out about Kurfee?

Nathaniel felt a sickly sadness fill him.

"Nat? What's wrong?" Kurfee asked, peering up at him.

Nathaniel weakly smiled, "N-Nothing Kurfee. I got to put the hearing aids on charge now…"

Kurfee nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the first chapter! hope you liked it! yeah! i'm writing a whole new story! I'm thinking about brining Sabrina into it as well, as i feel so bad for her! whaaa! 
> 
> anyway, what do you think? let me know!


	2. Disorientated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoa! thank you so much for everyone who had given this a read! honestly, i wasn't really expecting to get any attention! thank you so much!
> 
> again, the group of heroes all know eachother identities! they're a team now with Ladybug being the leader! 
> 
> a special thank you to my wonderful beta! AForApostrophe! thank you again!

"Where did you get those tacky earbuds? They're just so gross!"

Nathaniel winced. He wasn't looking at Chloe, but from the few words he was able to hear, he got to the picture. He hunched his shoulders as he walked into the classroom. He was a bit tired due to not being able to sleep well last night, and the fact he had almost forgotten about his homework.

"Lay off Chloe," Alya said.

Chloe rolled her eyes, "Why don't you run along now Alya, this doesn't concern you!" she sneered, "It's not like the tomato can hear me anyway! He is deaf as a bad!"

"It's blind as a bat, Chloe," Alya sighed, "And of course he can, he has hearing aids."

Chloe snorted loudly. She rolled her eyes once more, and turned away. She snapped at poor Sabrina for no reason at all, other than being annoyed that Alya had stood up to her.

Nathaniel awkwardly shifted on his feet. It was probably not the only comment that would be aimed at him.

"Don't call them earbuds again either," Alya added.

Nathaniel glanced up at Alya, he was still surprised that she was standing up to him. Before, she hardly paid him attention. She had never been mean to him, of course. She had always been nice to him if they ever did have to talk to each other, like working on the same project or something, but they weren't friends. Alya never went out of her way to approach him.

It's weird.

"Good morning Nathaniel," Marinette said with a nervous smile.

Nathaniel bit back a frown. Instead he waved awkwardly.

The notes he had gotten from Marinette and Alya yesterday had helped. When he read through them, he did find he had missed some important things during the lesson yesterday. Kurfee had been scribbling away in his unused sketchbook. Nathaniel didn't mind, he wasn't sketching anymore. At least they were being used.

"How is your morning?" she added sweetly.

Nathaniel swallowed. He opened his sketchbook and quickly wrote down his answer.

'Hi, my morning was good. Thank you for asking.'

It might have been a cold answer, but honestly Nathaniel just wanted to get away. Just wanted to sit down away from everyone.

Nathaniel held his sketchbook to his chest, and covered his sudden throbbing ear. He looked at Chloe, who had made the sudden high-pitched squeal. It almost sounded like an unattended microphone. Either way it hurt his head.

"Adrien!" Chloe perked her lips.

The poor blonde kid sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. He tried to lean away but Chloe practically threw herself at him. Nathaniel did not envy the kid either. Not with the way Chloe always seemed to be ready to pounce on him at any given chance.

"Hey, er, Chloe," Adrien said awkwardly and hesitantly.

He had literally just walked through the classroom doors and Chloe was already attacking. Almost like a little bumblebee, buzzing around the thing as the centre of their world.

Adrien shifted backward. He carefully unwrapped Chloe's arms from his neck, and lightly pushed her back. It didn't seem to bother the blonde girl.

"Where were you last night Adrien, I waited almost the whole night and you didn't turn up," Chloe pouted, while twisting a bright golden curl around her finger.

Adrien weakly laughed, "Er, sorry about that. I had something to do," he said while his green eyes looked around the classroom.

Aya snorted. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at the blonde girl's actions. She muttered something under her breath with a shake of the head. She blew a lose hair out of her face before frowning deeply at Chloe.

"Chloe," she hissed before sheepishly looking around. She smiled weakly at Nathanial.

Chloe rolled her eyes again, "Oh calm down. He can't even hear!" she snorted, "Besides, if anybody did overheard me, they would think nothing of it! For all they know, it could have been a date!"

She even went ahead to wink to Adrien suggestively.

"But it wasn't," Marinette suddenly muttered. She looked rather displeased about the whole situation.

Nathaniel felt like he shouldn't be there. Not that he wasn't a part of whatever was going on, and that was completely fine with him. He didn't want to be a part of it anyway. He almost just walked away to his lonely desk.

"Hi Nathaniel," a sudden fuzzy voice said.

Nathaniel paused from his great escape. He wasn't sure who had spoken, but when he looked back at the small group, it didn't take a genius to figure out who had spoken to him.

"Welcome back," Adrien added kindly.

He was always kind. Nathaniel remembered, even to the people who clearly annoyed him. Namely Chloe.

Nathaniel simply nodded. He held his sketchbook tightly and wrote in it in a hurry.

'Thank you. Well I'm going to get to my desk before Madam Bustier gets here.'

And with that, Nathaniel skittered off to the desk. He didn't wait around to see if anybody else said anything. He just couldn't wait to be away from the group. He eagerly dropped down on his desk, and nervously peered back at the group before turning his attention down to his sketchbook. He tried to sketch something, but he only made a few badly done circles before he got bored of it.

Madam Bustier entered the classroom soon after. Madam Bustier smiled as she stood in front of the class. Nathaniel was ready this time, ready to take as many notes as possible.

"Now, onto the most important part of this workload," Madam Bustier said, "It is required for you all to do a presentation. I thought about it, and have come to the decision that you may work in pairs."

Nathaniel sighed. A presentation and in pairs. Nobody ever wanted to work with him, before losing his hearing and he doubted anybody would be tripping over themselves to be his partner. The only hope he ever had when he came to group projects is if the teacher had already put them into groups…

He winced as he recalled the last group project he was on. It was around the time he had been Akumatized. He did not want to be paired with anybody in that group, it would bring back the terrible memories.

Who was in the group again?

Chloe, definitely no. Absolutely not.

Sabrina. No. She's not as bad as Chloe, and can be nice if on her own, but she was still Chloe's little minion. Or at least she was around then.

Alya was also on his group project. If he recalled correctly. He had nothing against her, and recently she had been, weird…but she had that pity smile.

And then there was Marinette. The same as Alya. She always had this guilty and pity look on her face whenever she looked at him. He didn't think he could handle that.

Personally, the best solution for him was if Madam Bustier would allow him to do the presentation by himself.

"I've decided to allow you all to pick your partners," Madam Bustier said.

Nathaniel squinted his eyes. He hoped he had misheard Madam Bustier, but judging from the way everyone was suddenly relieved and happy, he had not. Great. Who will he work with? He nervously looked around the room awkwardly, there was no chance he could get a partner at this rate.

Everyone already looked like they were pairing up.

It seems he was going to be alone, like always. Why did he have to return to collège now? Of all times?

"You can have the rest of the day off to plan for your presentation. You will be presenting next Monday," Madam Bustier said.

Nathaniel sighed. He pushed his red hair out of his face and nervously stayed in his chair. He watched his classmates eagerly jump up from their chairs and was desperate enough to run out of the door.

'Nat! Don't be sad! I'm sure you'll get a partner for this project!' Kurfee squealed up at him from his shoulder bag.

Nathaniel smiled sadly down at Kurfee. He then looked back at Madam Bustier, she was still at the front desk. She seemed to be looking through her papers. Maybe he should go down to her, and somehow talk to her about doing the presentation by himself. It did not seem anybody wanted to work with him, and everyone looked like they had already paired up.

He sat still for a good couple of minutes before he finally got to his feet. He nervously pulled his sketchbook close to his chest, and carefully began to walk towards Madam Bustier's desk.

"Oh, Monsieur Kurtzberg," Madam Bustier said, looking at Nathaniel with a smile, "Welcome back!"

Nathaniel awkwardly smiled. He opened his sketchbook, and quickly wrote his problem down.

'I don't have a partner, is there any way I can do the presentation by myself?'

Madam Bustier frowned. She put a hand to her chin in thought, "I would really like everyone to be in pairs for this project, but I suppose if there is nobody else to pair up with, I can allow this," she said.

Nathaniel smiled in relief.

"Monsieur Kurtzberg, if you need anything, I am here," she added kindly.

With that Nathaniel nodded. He turned around to walk away when a hand gently grabbed his elbow. At first he thought it was Madam Bustier, probably having forgotten to say something to him or something. He was preparing to turn to Madam Bustier.

It was not Madam Bustier.

Surprise covered his face. This was the last thing Nathaniel had been expecting. He was shocked.

"Hi," Adrien greeted with a smile.

Nathaniel just stared, and stared. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't keep the skeptical expression from appearing across his face.

"Oh, Monsieur Agreste!" Madam Bustier said with a bright smile. She walked up to both boys, "Can I help you with anything?"

Adrien chuckled. He sheepishly rubbed the back of neck, "Ah, um, not really. I was just hoping Nathaniel wouldn't mind being my partner for this project?" he said, directing his question to Nathaniel as he spoke.

Nathaniel's mouth was dry. Disbelief filled him, and he had the urge to pinch himself.

"Oh that is antastic!" Madam Bustier grinned, "Then you two can work together then!"

Nathaniel gaped. He had what he wanted, he got to do the presentation by himself, but now…now it seemed he wasn't going to be allowed to. Why? Why does Adrien of all people want to work with him?

Doesn't Adrien normally work with Nino?

Almost like he had read Nathaniel's mind, Adrien smiled, "Nino has decided to pair up with Max. I thought it would be fun if we worked together Nathaniel. We hardly got to talk before," he said kindly.

Nathaniel always thought Adrien was a little too nice.

"This is perfect! Génial," Madam Bustier said, "Then Nathaniel, you can work with Adrien on this project!"

Nathaniel watched as Madam Bustier scampered out of the classroom. He bit down harshly on his bottom lip, and tightened his hands around his sketchbook until his knuckles flushed pure white. He couldn't help but feel like this was a terrible idea. Adrien was, after all, one (if not the most) popular guy in the collège and Nathaniel was…he was just the shy weirdo artist who had a crush on Ladybug once upon time – it resulted in him being Akumatized.

"Um, Nathaniel?" Adrien called.

Nathaniel blinked. He shook his thoughts away, and looked up at Adrien. It was then that he realized Adrien had gotten taller. He doesn't recall the blonde guy being taller than him before…but he was now.

"About the project, did you want to go to the library or…?" Adrien trailed off sheepishly.

Nathaniel blinked once then twice. His mind clicked in realization. Right, they had to start planning it today. He was hoping to go back home and spend more time with Kurfee. He wasn't exactly expecting having to spend the day with freaking Adrien.

He didn't agree to being Adrien's partner anyway.

'We can go to my house.'

Nathaniel stared down at his sketchbook. What was he thinking?

"Oh, sure! That sounds like a good idea," Adrien smiled widely.

Nathaniel would beg to differ

~#~#~#~#~

Nathaniel had walked ahead with Adrien trailing along behind. He felt so anxious. His heart was beating so loudly in his chest. It was starting to make his head dizzy. He had never brought another person his age back to his home before.

'This is my house…' Nathaniel wrote in his sketchbook.

Adrien peered down at the paper with that same bright smile. He looked at the small single-level house squished between two larger houses.

"It's nice," Adrien said.

Nathaniel suddenly felt embarrassed about his tiny home. He awkwardly moved closer to the door. He could feel his face heating up. He hoped Adrien couldn't tell how awkward he was feeling about this. He just wanted to get this project done with.

He opened the door, and poked his head in. It didn't look like anybody else was home. The lights were off, and his mother's shoes wasn't at the door like normal. When he checked, even her coat was gone. It looked like his father hadn't returned either.

"Where are your parents?" Adrien asked when Nathaniel let him in.

Nathaniel shrugged, 'Mum's a nurse at the logical hospital while Dad is a train driver. Both are gone at all hours of the day, I am normally on my own,' he wrote.

Adrien nodded his head. His green eyes were scanning everything as he stood in the doorway. He hummed quietly as he took notice of the smaller details of the house. He then watched as Nathaniel pulled off his shoes and lined them up next to the door.

"Do you want me to remove my shoes as well?" he questioned.

Nathaniel peered up at him shyly. He nodded his head after a moment.

Adrien then smiled again. He began to pull off his own shoes, he placed them neatly next to Nathaniel's. He then held on to the strap of his bag. He then followed Nathaniel to the living room. It looked to be a simple living room, with a small wooden table. There was a small worn-out couch and an outdated television. There were a few small photos on the walls.

Nathaniel sat down on his knees. He leant against the table, nervously watching as Adrien did the same, but across from him. He chewed his bottom lip, and gently laid his hand on top of his bag. He glanced down to Kurfee staring up at him with bright red eyes. The little white fluffy wolf then put a paw to his lips as if to make a 'shh' motion.

"So, do you have any ideas what you want our presentation to be about?" Adrien asked, "It can be art-based if you want, I don't mind."

Nathaniel shook his head, 'No. Anything but art,' he wrote.

"Oh, okay," Adrien said with a small frown. He clearly thought it was odd.

It was just so awkward between them. Nathaniel wasn't even sure of what to do. He was really starting to wish he had tried to fight to work on his own. This just didn't seem like it would work out well.

He was betting that Adrien was wishing he got in with Nino before Max now.

Now that Nathaniel was looking at Adrien, he noticed that like everyone else, he hadn't changed much. His hair was longer and messier. Bright, golden hair and green eyes. Just as he remembered.

"Hey, so, um, how are you?" Adrien suddenly said, "I mean with the whole…"

Ah. There it was. Adrien was only working with him because he pitted him.

'Being partially deaf,' Nathaniel wrote.

Adrien sheepishly smiled, "Um. Yeah. How are you doing with being…partially deaf? Are the hearing aids helping?" he asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Nathaniel's lips twitched into a small frown. He picked up his pencil to reply when suddenly a high pitch frequency burned through his ears, it made the inside of his ears ache painfully. He let out a yelp, and his hand flung up to cover his aching hear.

"Nathaniel!"

"Nat!"

As soon as the pain came it was gone. Nathaniel blinked, the air quickly becoming cold and his face paling. Kurfee was floating close to his face, his large red eyes looking awkwardly between Nathaniel and Adrien.

Just as something clicked in the back of his mind, Nathaniel's hands shot up and covered the white wolf. He brought him to chest protectively. He stared at Adrien. Adrien's green eyes was just as wide as Nathaniel's.

Then a sudden blur of pure black shot through the air. It hovered above them, and stared down with narrowed emerald slit eyes. Its twitchy black ears stood up with a long black tail flickering slowly behind its fluffy body. It had clearly come from Adrien's bag.

It was a cat.

A floating black cat.

"Is that a Kwami!"

"Is that a Kwami?"

Nathaniel's mouth opened and shut. He had just spoken. And it sounded awful to his ears. He grimaced. He slowly shrank back, hunching his shoulders nervously. Kurfee moved closer to him, and gently pats him on the head as if to calm him down.

"Nat?" Kurfee said, tilting his head, "Are you okay?"

Adrien hummed, "Nat?" he asked.

Nathaniel looked at the blonde boy across from him, "Um, K-Kurfee calls me that…" he said shyly.

"It's cute," Adrien said.

Nathaniel flushed. He looked away nervously.

Suddenly the cat Kwami moved closer to Kurfee, almost right in his personal space, "I've never seen a wolf Kwami before, and I've been around a long time!" the cat said.

Kurfee pouted. He lightly pushed on the cat's forehead, gently edging the cat away, "That's because I'm from Greece! I am a Greek Kwami!" he squealed, floating closer to Nathaniel.

The cat made a soft 'Oh' sound, "Ah, well, I'm Plagg," he purred, his tail wiggling.

"I'm Kurfee! Nice to meet yah Plagg!" Kurfee squealed with excitement, his tail wagging.

Adrien smiled as he looked up at the two floating Kwamis. He shakes his head and then looked at Nathaniel with his hand to his chin, "I don't recall seeing anybody with a wolf miraculous before?" he said.

Nathaniel shook his head, "I've never d-done it," he mumbled, he shrugged his shoulders helplessly, "I've only h-had Kurfee a couple of days."

"You should try it!" Adrien piped brightly, "I can teach you how to be a superhero, we could run around fighting crime together, beating up the bad guys and saving-"

Nathaniel bites his bottom lip, "I don't want to," he said helplessly.

Adrien's face immediately fell. He frowned and tilted his head, "Why not? I thought you wanted to be a superhero. I remember that comic you made in class," he said.

"…L-Last time I tried to be a hero, I lost something," Nathaniel said sadly. He was doing everything in his power as to not wince from how distorted the voices was, how horrible his own voice was.

Nathaniel winced at the thought of the comic. It was pretty stupid.

Adrien flinched, "Sorry," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Nathaniel shrugged, "It's alright," he mumbled, "I don't expect everyone to remember…"

Kurfee wiggled through the air. He easily danced out of the way when Plagg once again tried to charge at him. Kurfee let out a small laugh, rubbing his white cheeks.

"Nat!" Kurfee squealed cutely, "Not everything will end up the same! You didn't have me last time! I'll be there to help you if anything goes wrong!"

"I'll help you too, it won't be like being akumatized," Adrien added kindly.

Nathaniel inhaled sharply. He hunched his shoulders more, and nibbled across his bottom lip, "I-I know it won't be like when I was akumatized…like when I was the Evillustrator, but I can't," he wheezed out.

Nathaniel couldn't help but whimper as he uttered the world ‘Evillustrator’. He doesn't want to ever become Evillustrator again. He doesn't even want to tolerate the thought.

"I-I just can't," he added, "Please understand Kurfee."

The small white wolf moved closer to Nathaniel. His fluffy white ears folded over, and he cuddled his small body close Nathaniel's face. He even made a sound familiar to purring, but it wasn't quite purring.

"It's okay Nat," Kurfee said, "I understand, maybe someday, hmm?"

Nathaniel smiled. He gently covered his hand over Kurfee (Kurfee's purring becoming louder at the action).

"Well, if you change your mind, I am more than happy to help," Adrien said with a wink.

Nathaniel tried to ignore the way his face suddenly heated up.

~#~#~#~#~

It was the next day, and Nathaniel was almost wishing he had faked being sick this morning. He was certain his mother would have fallen for it but no, he had been a good boy. The truth is he just didn't want to go into collège today and have to put up with another day working with Adrien Agreste.

Nothing against the guy (he was really nice) but Nathaniel just felt too strange around him.

He was late anyway.

"Oh, why does this always happen to me," a low feminine voice whined.

Nathanial would have missed it if he didn't see the girl crouching down in front of the collège's stairs. He only heard a few fuzzy words. He awkwardly approached the girl from behind. He wondered if he could just walk straight past her, would she consider that being rude? She would probably even make a comment about it.

The girl was on her hands and knees. It looked like she was looking around for something, and Nathaniel believed she was muttering to herself, but he wasn't sure.

"Where are they?" the girl whined.

Nathaniel awkwardly stood for a good few seconds. It was only by chance that he looked down to wonder what to do when he noticed a pair of old, worn-out glasses. They had been broken in half and taped back together again.

He clenched his sketchbook tightly, Nathaniel picked up the glasses. He peered at them and then the girl. He sighed shakily and stepped up behind the girl, he nervously tapped her on the shoulder.

The girl paused. Her body had tensed up as she stood up straight and turned around. Her face was twisted into a worried expression as if she was expecting somebody else. Nathaniel recognized the expression, it was an expression one would have when being confronted by a bully.

Nathaniel held the glasses up. He looked at them and then the girl's blank face, she was squinting, trying to make him out. At least she had relaxed upon seeing it wasn't the person she was expecting it to be.

"Oh, um, hi Nathaniel," the girl said as she put on her glasses.

Nathaniel nodded. It was Sabrina. It was strange to see her without Chloe. Nathaniel wondered if Sabrina thought it was Chloe behind her.

'Hello,' Nathaniel wrote in his sketchbook, 'Are you alright?'

Sabrina leant forward as she read the words. She pushed her large glasses up her nose, and hummed, "Yeah. Thank you Nathaniel. I…um, tripped a little while ago. I dropped my glasses. Thank you for picking them up," she said.

It was so odd. It was like Sabrina was a different person without Chloe around. He remembered it being Sabrina with the talent that everyone thought was Chloe, if he recalled right, Chloe always took credit for Sabrina's work.

Chloe made Sabrina do everything, and then would claim it being hers.

Why Sabrina would put up with Chloe was beyond him.

"Thanks for picking them up," Sabrina said.

Nathaniel nodded, 'We should get to class, we're already late,' he scribbled awkwardly.

Sabrina's eyes widened. She gasped, and nodded her head. Without another word, she turned around and began to walk quickly up the steps to the college. Nathaniel stared after her before shrugging and trailing along behind her.

Sabrina hadn't changed either. Her short orange hair was the same, she wore a lavender hairband this time with the sweater and skirt. Exactly as he remembered her.

Nathaniel sighed deeply as he looked at 'Collège Françoise Dupont'.

"Nat?" Kurfee called out, "Didn't you say you have, um, M-M-mennn-iev? Today?"

Nathaniel blinked slowly. M-M-mennn-iev? Who was that?

…Madam Mendeleiev!

His eyes widened and his mouth opened. He could only imagine what Madam Mendeleiev will say when she finds him being late. He hadn't seen her since he returned, so maybe she'll go easy on him?

…probably not…

Either way Nathaniel found himself rushing through the corridors to his classroom. He was surprised to find Sabrina standing nervously outside the door. Her face brightened up in relief when she saw him.

"Er, I thought it would be less…you know…" she said sheepishly.

He guessed it would be less scary if one went in with another person. Not that it would matter to him really. He was always afraid of Madam Mendeleiev's tone of voice. The way she could easily pick him out with words, and making him feel tiny. Nathaniel doesn't have to worry about that anymore.

He probably won't even hear her.

Nathaniel sighed. He might as well get this over with. So, with that thought, he stepped up to the door and opened it. Immediately he remembered his first day when he entered the classroom to find all his classmates staring at him.

The familiar faces and eyes stared at him as he stepped inside. Sabrina following behind meekly.

"It's okay!" a loud voice called out.

Nathaniel looked around the room. He had only heard the voice because it was so loud. It fuzzed in and out of ears. He lifted his head in hopes of finding the owner of said voice.

"Madam Mendeleiev isn't here yet. She's late," Alya shrugged. She pushed a loose curl off her shoulder as she spoke with a smile.

Marinette was sitting next to her. She smiled up at Nathaniel and waved at him.

"You're really lucky. If Madam Mendeleiev was here, she would have chewed you out for being late! Deaf as a bat or not!" Chloe snorted. She crossed her legs, and smirked widely, "Probably would have been a good show."

"M-Morning Chloe!" Sabrina squealed rushing towards their shared desk.

Chloe snorted again. She turned her head and turned her nose up from the shorter girl.

Nathaniel stared at the two. He awkwardly frowned, he might not have heard exactly what the girl had said, but he got the picture it wasn't anything nice. He truly wondered why Sabrina put up with Chloe. She was treating her so badly.

What friend does that?

He avoided looking in the direction of Adrien as he quickly approached his desk. After yesterday, Nathaniel wanted to avoid any interaction with the model unless completely necessary. It was just too weird.

As kind and nice as Adrien is, the model hadn't really paid much attention to Nathaniel before now. Nobody did. Now that all of a sudden everyone was paying him attention, Nathaniel could only wonder why.

They pitted him. Clearly. Everyone but Chloe.

Nathaniel just hoped Adrien wouldn't tell anybody about Kurfee. He shouldn't, and Nathaniel knows it isn't like Adrien to tell anybody anyway. He promised after all. Nathaniel wasn't about to tell anybody about Plagg either.

Kurfee was somewhere in his bag again. He refused to be apart from Nathaniel, and it made Nathaniel smile. Kurfee really was one of a kind, and had quickly become Nathaniel's best friend. His dearest friend.

To think that only a week ago, Nathaniel thought he would never get a friend.

Madam Mendeleiev burst the door open just as Nathaniel's backside touched his chair. Nathaniel let out a nervous wheeze as he peered up at the woman through vibrant red hairs. He was going to make sure Madam Mendeleiev doesn't call him out.

Nathaniel opened his sketchbook with a frown. He used to sketch through Madam Mendeleiev's lessons, he remembered Madam Mendeleiev calling him out in front of the whole class when she caught him making that silly comic.

His sketchbook was empty now, not a single doodle in sight. It only had words. Kurfee's, and his own sentences with the occasional game of noughts and crosses. Either way Nathaniel wasn't going to chance Madam Mendeleiev storming towards him and scolding him in front of million eyes. He didn't want to look up to find Madam Mendeleiev looming over him.

He tried to pay attention, he really did. But it was just so hard. Madam Mendeleiev spoke so fast, so quickly, it was just impossible to keep track with what she was saying. He couldn't hear most of her words, it only sounded like a blur of fuzzy words. It was beginning to make his head spin.

"Monsieur Kurtzberg!"

It took Nathaniel a good two minutes for it to register that Madam Mendeleiev was calling on him. His eyes widened and his face paled as he shot up out of his chair and stared at the woman.

Why? Why was it always him?

"Monsieur Kurtzberg! Do I have to ask you again?" she snapped.

Nathaniel's eyes squinted as he tried to read her lips. He couldn't quite see what she was saying.

"Monsieur Kurtzberg, are you even paying attention?" Madam Mendeleiev said, "And do you find something funny with my class? You keep making faces!"

Nathaniel just stared. He was able to hear a few words, and it was taking him some time to fill in the blank spaces. He tried to stitch the sentences together. She must have asked a question? He could feel his heart racing from anxiousness and embarrassment. He awkwardly looked around the class, unsure of what to do.

"Monsieur Kurtzberg!"

The vibrations of something heavy scraping across the floor made Nathaniel spin his head around. He watched in surprise and confusion as Marinette stood up.

"M-Madam Mendeleiev," she began in a high-pitched voice. It was amazing that Nathaniel even heard her.

The woman turned to look at Marinette with dark eyes, "Not now Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng!" she snapped.

Marinette flushed, "But Madam Mendeleiev," she pressed.

Madam Mendeleiev held a hand up, "Now Monsieur Kurtzberg, please explain why you are not paying attention in class and instead is dillydallying?" she said in tight tone.

Nathaniel's face heated up. He had no idea what Madam Mendeleiev had just said to him, or why Marinette of all people had jumped up to help him, but he was oddly scared. His knees were beginning to buckle. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. He kept opening and shutting his mouth.

"Madam Mendeleiev, what Marinette is trying-" Alya began.

"Mademoiselle Césaire, please! You are not involved in this!" Madam Mendeleiev interrupted.

Alya gasped. She frowned deeply, and narrowed her eyes, she then huffed and crossed her arms. She leant back in her chair with a grumble. Her little fox-tail charm bouncing as she moved.

"Monsieur Kurtzberg-"

"Nathaniel's partially deaf!" Adrien interrupted, "Madam Mendeleiev, what, er, Marinette and Alya are trying to tell you is that Nathaniel is partially deaf."

Madam Mendeleiev paused. She blinked over at Nathaniel, "Partially deaf?" she said quietly.

Adrien nodded his head, "Yes Madam. He…he has been out of school for six months due to it, and have only just returned," he informed, "Perhaps you weren't made aware of it?"

A brilliant blush of embarrassment covered Madam Mendeleiev's face, "Oh….Oh yes! You are absolutely correct, I was not made aware of this Monsieur Agreste!" She said sheepishly, "Monsieur Kurtzberg, I truly apologize."

Nathaniel blinked once or twice. He awkwardly nodded, and slowly lowered back down into his seat. He felt so awkward. He peered over at the students who had decided to stand up for him. Marinette looked very pleased and had sat back down with the sweetest smile one could ever see. Alya had the expression of 'finally!' on her face, as she sighed deeply and then bumped her shoulder to Marinette's.

Adrien smiled at him. He waved before he turned back to the front. Nino playfully punching on him on the shoulder, and then whispering something which made the blond model laugh.

Why was everyone suddenly so nice to him? It was really starting to bug him.

The bell rang for the end of the lesson. Nathaniel decided he didn't want to wait around any longer, and quickly gathered up his roughly made notes. He quickly began to move in and out between the students.

He just wanted to get home.

"Nathaniel!"

He almost sighed when a hand grabbed his elbow. He turned around and wasn't surprised to find the blonde model had followed him quickly.

"Nathaniel, sorry," Adrien said sheepishly, "I just wanted to ask when you wanted to work on our project?"

Nathaniel shrugged. Anytime was fine, he just wanted to get it over with.

"How about Saturday? Does that work for you? Ah, sorry, it's the only day I'm not booked up!" Adrien smiled.

Nathaniel shrugged again. It was fine. Fine. He nodded, and then turned around. He kept his head down as he speed walked away from Adrien. He didn't bother to look back, he just wanted to get home. Get away from everything.

Get away from his suddenly friendly classmates that always had their attention on him.

He couldn't escape anymore. It wasn't right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you all enjoyed it! thank you again!


	3. Web

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone! thank you so much for reading and commenting! i'm so happy you all like it! this one is a bit of doozy! I've started another plotline which i hope you all will like!!!!
> 
> a special thank you to my wonderful beta! AForApostrophe! thank you again!

Nathaniel yawned softly. He sat at his desk, with his notes out in front of him. He had been trying to make sense of them. Only the notes he had received from Marinette really made sense, his own was all over the place and he was clearly missing important information.

"I'm just making myself dizzy," he said.

Kurfee hummed. He looked up from the bowl of lemons, a slice of lemon in his mouth, "What's wrong Nat?" he asked, his voice muffled.

Nathaniel smiled as the little wolf sat on his shoulder, "My notes. They make no sense," he sighed.

"What's wrong with them?" Kurfee questioned, peering down at the scribbles.

Nathaniel groaned. He had got used to talking to Kurfee, it was like a normal conversation. It was only when he heard his mother speaking to him, that reminded him he is partially deaf and need hearing aids. Even then, the hearing aids don't allow him to hear like before.

"I can't…hear everything. When the teachers are talking, I don't hear everything they say…so I write down what I hear, and it's…embarrassingly obvious I'm missing important information," Nathaniel sighed deeply.

"Why don't you talk to your teachers?" Kurfee suggested before he smiled brightly, widely, "Or-or that boy who was here yesterday! He's your friend, right!"

Nathaniel felt his cheeks heat. He leant back as the small wolf bounced onto his papers, "My friend? Adrien? No-No, I mean, he's nice and probably the kindest person ever…but no, we're not friends. We've never talked before…" he winced as he tried to explain.

Kurfee cocked his head, "But you seemed like friends!" he squealed.

"He talks to me because he feels sorry for me," Nathaniel said, "They all do. Marinette, Alya and probably even Nino. They feel sorry for me, that's why they're being so friendly to me."

Kurfee blinked. He slowly nodded as his ears folded up. A soft whimper escaping his little mouth.

"Don't be sad Kurfee," Nathaniel said, "It's okay. I'm used to being alone."

Kurfee shook his head. He moved to Nathaniel's face and nuzzled his cheek, "You're not alone! You have me!" he squealed sweetly.

Nathaniel smiled widely. He let out a soft laugh, and gently placed his hand over Kurfee's body. Kurfee leant into Nathaniel's hand, while purring.

"I know Kurfee," Nathaniel said, "You're my best friend."

Kurfee let out a happy howl at that.

Nathaniel gave the papers one last look before he pushed them away. He pulled at his oversized white sweater (not his choice) and got to his feet. He stretched himself out with a groan.

"Nat! Nat!" Kurfee gasped, "That's dangerous!"

The red head smiled back at his tiny partner, "Don't worry. I used to do this all the time," he said with a shrug.

He pushed his window open, and shivered from the cold breeze of Paris. He then proceeded to climb through the open window, using the ledge outside his window to help hoist himself upward, climbing onto the roof carefully.

Kurfee followed. The little white wolf moving back and forth worriedly. He kept looking down and then the roof, before back down wearily. He moved backward with a squeal, rubbing his fuzzy cheeks nervously.

"B-But!" he began.

Nathaniel grunted as he finally pulled himself onto the roof. He panted softly as he sat on his knees, before he smiled in victory.

"I'm fine," he chuckled, "I've done this many times before."

Kurfee pouted, "What…what if you fall?"

Nathaniel shook his head, "I won't."

He carefully shifted to sit back with his legs pulled up to his chest. He smiled wistfully as he looked at the amazing view the roof of the house had. It wasn't as good as the Eiffel Tower, but he had the perfect view of said Tower.

Kurfee whimpered quietly. He floated closer to Nathaniel's body.

Nathaniel looked up at the starry sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight. It was a nice night, perfect really. Nathaniel could see a few people about, they're probably laughing and chatting. He wasn't completely sure, but at least somebody was having fun. He was so focused on a small group of three people that looked to be the same age, that Nathaniel didn't notice something creeping up behind him.

"Fancy meowing you here~"

Immediately Nathaniel tensed up. His eyes widened in surprise, and spun his head around. His heart was ready to burst out of his chest.

"C-Chat Noir?" he breathed out startled.

The cat boy grinned widely. He was just as Nathaniel remembered, truthfully the last time Nathaniel had seen the superhero was when he was Akumatized but still. Chat Noir looked the same. He was tall and dressed in a black leather suit, with cat ears and tail.

He had bright green slit eyes.

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow at the superhero, "What are you doing here?"

"I was just in the neighbourhood, and thought I'd pounce in~" Chat Nori said, "What are mew doing out here at this time of night?"

Chat Noir crouched down next to Nathaniel. His tail strangely was moving, like a real cat. The tail looked like a long piece of material pinned to the lower back of the suit, so how was it even moving like that?

"Oh, so that's what Plagg meant," Kurfee hummed.

Nathaniel blinked again. He looked down at his small white wolf, and then the cat superhero before finally something in his head clicked. Suddenly he could see, it was like cotton had been removed from his eyes.

"Adrien?" he said.

Chat Noir simply grinned at him, "The one and meow. Looking good, feline good~"

Nathaniel's lips twitched, "Seriously, puns…" he mumbled, "Why are you really here?"

Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir. Of course he was. Now that Nathaniel was thinking about it, of course Adrien was. Seriously, of course Adrien was freaking Chat Noir. Their faces were exactly the same, both were blonde and had green eyes. Only a moron wouldn't have noticed it…

It seems Nathaniel was one of the morons.

He used to sketch both Chat Nori and Ladybug most nights back then. Nathaniel should have noticed the similarities.

Suddenly another thought filled his mind. If Adrien was Chat Noir, then Marinette had to be Ladybug. Marinette looked exactly like Ladybug, and he hadn't exactly seen Ladybug since being Akumatized, he is sure Ladybug’s hair would have grown just as long as Marinette’s.

"It was my turn to be on patrol," Chat Noir shrugged, "And I was seriously in the neighbourhood, it's a-paw-ling that mew don't believe me~"

Nathaniel tried not to snort but he did. He shook his head and looked back out at Paris, "No Akumas to defeat?" he asked.

"Akuma? I haven't fought one in months," Chat Noir hummed, "Not since…um, we took down Hawk Moth…"

The red head looked at the cat superhero. He looked like it was almost painful to say, Nathaniel wondered why. But he was surprised to hear that Ladybug and Chat Noir took down Hawk Moth. That explains why he hadn't seen one since returning to school. He hadn't been able to ask around either…for obvious reasons.

Who was Hawk Moth?

Nathaniel would have asked but Chat Noir looked rather awkward. It made him think that the cat boy didn't want to talk about the super villain, so he decided not to ask. Poor little Kurfee looked confused, and Nathaniel couldn't blame him. Apparently Kurfee didn't know really any other Kwami outside Greece.

Hawk Moth must have had a Kwami…so does Marinette now that Nathaniel really thought about it. He wondered if he had ever seen Marinette's Kwami? Probably not.

"So Hawk Moth has been, er, defeated…then has there been any new villains?" Nathaniel wondered out loud, "No more Akumas, but something is always waiting to take the bad guys' place…"

"You'd think, wouldn't you," Chat Noir said, "But nope. Nothing out of the ordinary, not like the…um, Akuma or Hawk Moth. We just go on patrol now and really stop petty crime."

"Oh," Nathaniel said.

Chat Noir nodded his head before he let out a purr, he moved closer to Nathaniel's side. The bell on his chest chimed, "So? What are mew doing out here so late?" he questioned.

"I got bored, my notes weren't helping so I came out here," Nathaniel shrugged, "It's nice out here."

"Notes? From class?" Chat Noir asked.

Nathaniel laid is head on top of his knees. His arms around his legs. He nodded, "Yeah. The teachers talk a bit too fast, I miss some words and then my notes don't make sense," he said.

Even now, he was struggling to hear what Chat Noir was saying. But since the cat hero was right next to him, speaking close to his hearing aids, he was able to easily figure out what he was saying.

"Maybe your furends can help~" Chat Nori chimed.

"I don't have friends," Nathaniel said.

Nathaniel didn't even look at the cat hero. He chose to keep his eyes on the city that never sleeps. It was breath taking. So many beautiful blinking lights. He remembered the restless nights he had up here, just sketching away in his sketchbook. He would spend hours trying to get what he saw down on the pages.

"So, I'm guessing you've drawn this scene before?" the cat boy said awkwardly. Probably just trying to start up a conversation again.

Nathaniel sighed. He peered at the hero, "Yeah," he said, "But I haven't drawn anything new."

"Why not?" Chat Noir asked, "I remember you were always sketching, always doing something in your sketchbooks."

A small frown appeared across Nathaniel's lips, "I used to, but not since, you know. Losing your hearing kind of puts damper on things," he said.

Nathaniel by chance looked down. He paused in confusion, and his eyebrows pulled together as he stared. Slowly he looked up into Chat Noir’s masked face and then back down.

"What's…what's wrong with your hand?" he finally said.

Chat Noir frowned. The look of confusion covered his face as well before he looked down at his hand. Immediately his eyes widened, and he lifted his clawed up. His clawed hand was vibrating. There were tiny odd black balls zapping in and out of exist. They were moving around his hand. Almost looking like they were coming from his hand itself.

"Do you do that often?" Nathaniel asked, "Is it one of your powers?"

Chat Nori shook his head, "No. No. This…I've never done this before…it's almost like…" he trailed off.

Nathaniel stared. He was beginning to get the feeling this wasn't right, that even Chat Noir was looking worried. He peered back down at Chat Noir’s clawed hand, and watched as he moved it. Opening and closing the hand. He even tried to shake whatever it was off.

"Are you okay?" Nathaniel asked.

Chat Noir blinked his green slit eyes, "Um. I think so…" he said, "I am feeling pawsitively a-okay!"

Nathaniel got to his feet, "Only you would make a pun in a situation like this…" he frowned.

"Nat!" Kurfee suddenly whined.

Chat Noir let out a low hiss. He moved in front of Nathaniel, and hushed him backward with his arm. He was looking upward with the black leather ears of his standing upward. He held a long wooden staff with his other hand, which Nathaniel had no idea where he got it from. He didn't have the staff before.

"What's wrong?" Nathaniel asked.

Kurfee whined again. He moved closer to Nathaniel, "Something else is with us!" he cried out.

Nathaniel opened his mouth to ask what Kurfee meant, when something caught the corner of his eye. He turned his head in the direction. On the building across from them, across from his home was a figure.

He tried to squirt his eyes in hopes of making the person out, "Who is that?" he asked.

"Nobody good, you should stay back," Chat Noir said.

Nathaniel looked between the cat hero and the mystery figure. He couldn't tell if the figure was a male or female from their distance, but he believed Chat Noir when he said it wasn't good. He shifted backward awkwardly. His nerves were building.

The figure slowly raised a hand. Something seemed to separate itself from its body. Chat Noir barely had to react when that something shot towards them. He spun his wooden staff up, and held it with both hands as the thing rammed into it. The force of it sent the poor cat hero onto his backside.

" Chat Noir," Nathaniel gasped, "Are you okay?"

"I am just pawsitively purr-fect!" Chat Noir groaned, rubbing the back of his head.

"At least your mouth is okay," Nathaniel snorted, "It's gone now."

Nathaniel looked back at the building. The mystery figure was gone and so was whatever the thing it threw at them. It was like nothing had between there to begin with.

Chat Noir breathed out, "So is my claw. Oh how fur-tunate!"

Nathaniel held his hand out to help the hero up, "Why do I get the feeling things like this happen to you all the time?"

"Not all the time, just most of the time," Chat Noir grinned, "But I've never seen that person before…"

Kurfee whimpered. He moved around the two in a circle, "That was bad," he said.

"Kurfee, do you know who that was and why they came here? Of all places…" Nathaniel asked.

Kurfee's ears twitched. He shook his fluffy head, "No. No. Back home there was nothing like this. The oracle said! The oracle said it's safe! Safe!" he squealed.

"Oracle?" Chat Noir asked.

"She took care of me, and my siblings! She sent me to France, and told me to find my way to Nathaniel!" Kurfee explained anxiously, "She didn't say there was other kwamis here!"

Chat Noir put a claw hand to his chin, "That's odd. Plagg told me that he knew there were other kwamis in other countries but he hadn't met them. I'm not surprised honestly, Plagg is a bit of a sourpuss!"

"I've never heard of an Oracle," Chat Noir added, "I do know that Plagg is from China."

"He's not a France Kwami?" Nathanial said, "I thought he would have been."

Chat Noir shrugged, "Pretty much all the Kwamis in France are originally from China."

Nathaniel nodded. He nervously peered back out at the city, he wondered if the mystery figure was still out there. Still watching them, or Chat Noir in the shadows. It had to be Chat Noir the figure was interested in.

He looked at the super cat hero. Nathaniel blinked upon seeing the worried expression on his face again. Chat Noir was biting his bottom lip and kept looking around the rooftops.

"Um. Are you alright?" he asked anxiously.

Chat Noir snapped out of whatever thoughts he had. He arched his body to stand up straight, "Oh, er, I'm just thinking about that the person," he said.

"Do…do you think they're still out there?" Nathaniel asked.

"I don't know, honestly," Chat Noir winced, "I'm just…hoping it isn't somebody with a miraculous again…or somebody that is close to me…"

He had mumbled the last part to himself rather than Nathaniel. Nathaniel, himself, didn't hear all the words.

"So, what are you going to do?" he asked, "I mean, that person was here looking at you. You're the superhero after all."

Chat Noir was quiet for a good few minutes, "Well. I can't blame them. I am pawsitively sexy!"

Nathaniel pressed his lips together. He stared at the frustrating superhero. Of course he couldn't be serious.

"But you can't be completely sure," Chat Noir said, "You do have a Kwami too."

"Yeah, but nobody knows about Kurfee," Nathaniel grumbled, "Right Kurfee!"

"Only Oracle knows about me! And Nat of course!" Kurfee pipped out.

Chat Nori smirked widely, "I know about Kurfee."

Nathaniel opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly a loud beep echoed through the air. He paused in surprise and watched as Chat Nori tensed up. He sheepishly laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"That's my miraculous. I should probably head home now anyway," he said, "But we'll talk more about this tomorrow."

"Oh…great…"

~#~#~#~#~

The day after had come too soon. Nathaniel couldn't stop thinking about the mystery person on the rooftop across from them. He didn't sleep well, having kept twisting and turning in bed. Poor Kurfee tried to comfort him but nothing seemed to calm his troubled mind.

'But you can't be completely sure. You do have a Kwami too.'

It kept running through his head. Chat Noir or Adrien really was right. The mystery person could have been looking at him and Kurfee. Kurfee was out in the open and anybody could have seen him. It wasn't normal to see a small animal flying around, or that said animal could talk.

Either way, Nathaniel just couldn't sleep so he wasn't in the best of moods when he got up the next morning.

"Nat?" Kurfee called.

Nathaniel yawned, "Hmm?"

Kurfee pouted up at him, "Are you alright?"

"I'm alright Kurfee, you don't need to worry," he smiled in return, "I'm just a little tired."

Kurfee didn't look convinced.

"Hey!"

Nathaniel frowned. He turned his head, and let out a small sigh as the familiar blonde model speed walked up to him. That bright, dazzling smile still on his face.

"Sorry about that, you weren't waiting long?" Adrien asked sheepishly, "Nathalie had gotten a bit overprotective."

Nathaniel almost opened his mouth and asked who Nathalie was but stopped himself in time. He shrugged, and turned away. The two were standing in the middle of a small park near the college, Adrien had asked him to wait for him while he went to speak to somebody in the limo that had pulled up after school.

He had the right mind to turn around and walk away.

Kurfee smiled. He waved at the little black cat nudging his way out of Adrien's bag. Plagg in return waved back, before he floated into the air and met the wolf halfway. Both seeming to whispering to one another, and then giggling.

Nathaniel had never felt so betrayed before.

Adrien laughed sheepishly. Like he could read the red head emo's mind.

"So, I, um, wanted to talk about yesterday," Adrien said.

Nathaniel clicked his tongue. He figured as much, "I-I…I can't stop thinking about t-that person…" he finally admitted after an awkward moment of silence.

"Me too," Adrien nodded, "It is a bit alarming to be honest."

Nathaniel blinked, "You've never run into that person before?" he asked.

Adrien shook his head, "I haven't. It had been very quiet since Hawk Moth's defeat, like I said, we've only been fighting petty crime. Like shoplifters, robberies and such. Have you noticed anything strange happening, or notice anybody following you?"

"Only a blonde model with a fetish for wearing a cat suit at night," Nathaniel mumbled.

Plagg let out a high pitch laugh at Nathaniel's comment, "Fetish! That's brilliant!" he giggled.

Adrien pouted. He glared up at his partner and then let out another sheepish laugh, "Come on. Do you have to say it like that?" he said.

Nathaniel shrugged. He nervously looked around the park. Nobody was around, it was just the two of them which is why the Kwamis were freely moving around. However that didn't make Nathaniel not worry that somebody could accidently see them.

"But no, last night was the first time I had seen that person," Nathaniel said.

Adrien frowned. He shifted on his feet and put a hand to his chin, "I'm still not sure what attacked us either," he said, "Or what had happened to my hand."

At the mention of his hand, Adrien pulled it from his face. He looked down at it wearily.

"Honestly, I don't know what is going on," Adrien added honestly, "I don't know if that person was following Chat Noir, or if they had already been there, watching you."

Nathaniel's eyes widened, "Why would they be watching me? The only person who knows about Kurfee is you," he said, his eyes narrowing, "Did you tell anybody about him?"

Adrien suddenly wouldn't meet Nathaniel's eyes.

"Y-You did?" Nathaniel gasped, "Who?"

"Nobody bad!" Adrien yelped, hands out, "I just told, um, Ladybug! A-And the others!"

Nathaniel stared. His head was spinning, his lips twisting together. His chest suddenly hurt and a strange stone formed in the pit of his stomach. Something like betrayal almost began to drip through his full being.

“Ladybug and who?" he breathed out sharply.

Adrien blinked once and then twice, "It's…it's not just Ladybug and I anymore. We have a small team now…didn't you know?" he asked, "Carapace, Rena Rouge, and Queen Bee? Haven't you hea…oh…"

The redhead narrowed his eyes further, "Oh, yeah! I haven't heard of those superheroes! I'm sorry, I haven't had the best hearing lately!" he snapped.

He even turned around, ready to storm away. He was feeling so frustrated and upset.

"Wait! Wait!" Adrien gasped, quickly running to stand in the way of Nathaniel, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Adrien breathed sharply, "I'm so sorry Nathaniel. I didn't mean it like that. I shouldn't have told them about Kurfee, I'm sorry. But their Kwamis could sense him, and I didn't think it would matter…I mean, if you…you know," he sheepishly began to speak. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Joined us," he said quietly.

Nathaniel paused. He wasn't sure if it was his hearing aids acting up, but he swore Adrien just suggested him joining the group of superheroes.

"Join you? Adrien, I said I don't want to be a superhero!" he said, "That still doesn't give you the right to tell them!"

"…Nat?" Kurfee whined, sensing how upset his partner had become.

Adrien flinched, "I know! I know! But I thought with that person yesterday, you might change your mind. I mean really don't know if they were there for me or you! It could come in handy if that person returns, and attacks you! You can defeat them yourself!" he said in hurry.

Nathaniel bit his bottom lip. He didn't want to admit the model had a point.

"I don't want to," he mumbled.

Adrien stepped closer to the small male, "I know you don't want to, but…you might have to," he said, "Especially if that person wants to hurt you and Kurfee."

"I don't know how," Nathaniel stubbornly said.

Adrien smiled, "I'll help you! In case something goes wrong, I'll be here to catch you! Come on Nathaniel, you'll love it! I know you will! I promise!" he said, suddenly perking up much like a real cat. Excitement filling his fuzzy voice.

"But…" Nathaniel said helplessly, "It'll hurt."

"No it won't," Adrien grinned.

Nathaniel took a step back when the model moved into his personal space. He was suddenly so angry at him and now, he just felt helpless, "Adrien. Y-You can't promise that."

"Sure I can!" Adrien chimed brightly, "It'll be fun! You'll love it!"

Kurfee, seeing what was happening, immediately moved to Nathaniel. He moved so close to his face, that Nathaniel twitched from feeling his fur brush against his skin.

"Nat! It'll be o-kay!" Kurfee squealed brightly, "You won't be alone! I'll be there with youuuuuu!"

"Why do I feel like everyone is against me?" Nathaniel said with a pout.

Plagg hummed loudly. His green slit eyes wide with curiosity.

"Nathaniel~" Adrien called, "Trust me."

Nathaniel stared at the blonde. His lips were a deep frown, "F-Fine…what do I do?"

Adrien's face split into the brightest smile Nathaniel had ever seen. Even his green eyes looked like they were shining. He did a cute fist-pump.

"Alright!" he cheered.

Kurfee grinned widely. He nuzzled the side of Nathaniel's face, "It'll be great Nat! You'll see!" he squealed happily.

"Say Ears Up!" Kurfee said brightly.

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow, "What?" he said slowly.

Oh, the irony…

Kurfee cutely tilted his head, he looked around the group of four, "Did I say something?" he asked.

"No-No," Adrien awkwardly said, "It's fine!"

Nathaniel snorted. He rolled his eyes before looking at Kurfee, "So…just say Ears Up?" he said. He peered around himself, half expecting something to happen. Something like seen in Disney Movies, but alas nothing happened.

"It didn't work," he shrugged, "Well, I tried. Seems being a superhero isn't for me."

Plagg made a deep snort, "You need to have a more, you know, oomph! Then that. Like this, Ears Up!" he said, throwing his small black paws up.

"You need to try," Adrien added with a chuckle.

Kurfee's white wolf ears folded a little, "Please Nat! Try for me?" he whimpered.

Nathaniel sighed deeply. His cheeks flushed a little, "Ears Up!" he said loudly.

Kurfee swiftly glowed a bright, burning white colour. He immediately disappeared, and as he disappeared, Nathaniel felt his hearing aids become warmer. It was clear that the little wolf had disappeared back into his hearing aids.

A loud click erupted from his hearing aids. He could feel them moving suddenly. It was the strange feeling he had ever felt before.

The ends of the hearing aids expanded out, and connected together through Nathaniel's vibrant red locks, looking like a thin white hair band. They then began to form a pair of large, and wide white electronic wolfish ears that glowed a bright orange colour. Immediately as the ears formed, Nathaniel's body began to glow a bright white colour.

A thin but slick suit covered his body. It was a bright white colour with what looked like pale orange computer wiring up his sides, and arms, almost looking to mimic lace. He had orange elbow length fingerless gloves. A white mask covered his face. The suit in itself had a very a computer-like look to it.

It was strange for Nathaniel, who wasn't really into computers until recently.

"Whoa," Nathaniel breathed with shaky legs.

"Are you alright?" Adrien asked, his eyes wide with awe.

Nathaniel licked his suddenly dry lips, "I…I think so…" he trailed off.

He looked around the park with wide eyes. His lips parted as he kept looking side to side, eventually turning around as he looked. He couldn't believe it. His heart was racing in shock and surprise. His hand shook at his sides.

His eyes were beginning to become glassy. He couldn't believe this!

"Nathaniel?" Adrien called.

Nathaniel gasped. He could truly hear everything! It was so painful, but amazing. Not having heard hardly anything for so long and then suddenly hearing everything, was just too much.

Too overwhelming.

"I can hear nature! The birds on the other side of those trees! I can even hear the busy street outside the park!" he said in hurry, "This is crazy!"

Plagg hummed, "That makes sense. Those ears are from your hearing aids," he said.

Nathaniel spun around, "Ears?" he yelped, reaching up to touch the electronic ears on top of his head, "I have a tail too!"

Adrien let out a laugh, "You look like a computerized wolf! It's pretty cool actually. Your hair is almost completely white too," he said with a smile.

"My hair?" Nathaniel gasped.

His hair was white, with red tips. At least he didn't lose all of the red in his hair. Not just that, he could feel something rather heavy resting against his back. He peered back over his shoulder and gapped upon what he saw.

Nathaniel let out a deep breath. He bites his bottom lip as his shaky hands dropped to his sides. He couldn't believe this. His body was vibrating.

"It's strange," Adrien began, hand to his chin, "I was expecting your colour to be orange, or red. Not white."

Nathaniel, still feeling up the robotic ears on his head, peered at the blonde. He pressed his lips together, "It's Kurfee. Isn't it? He was white."

Plagg clicked his tongue, "Exactly. Kurfee is a white wolf, so it makes sense your suit would be white. Thought I'm assuming the orange and red on the suit comes from your flowing red locks!" he chimed, gesturing to his hair and flicking his 'pretend hair' off his small shoulders.

Adrien snorted, but smiled kindly, "I think you look really cool."

Awkwardly pulling at the tight leather marital around his neck, Nathaniel sighed, "Thank you, I think, but I doubt I look that great."

"To be honest, I've seen the others transform many times and I have to say, your transformation was the coolest," Adrien grinned with a thumbs up, "Trust me. I've seen a lot."

"He's right, yah know," Plagg said, floating upside down with half-lidded eyes.

Nathaniel straightened his back, "Well, are you going to change too or am I the only one in this circus?" he asked quietly.

Adrien smirked, his green eyes seemed to glow in that moment, "Oh right!"

"Plagg, Claws out!”

Nathaniel had to take a step back. Immediately Plagg erupted with bright light that disappeared into Adrien's ring. His body began to glow green and black as the familiar leather suit began to take its rightful place upon the model's body. It was just as Nathaniel remembered from months ago. The long leather tail flickered along behind him as he stood up rightfully.

It was then that Nathaniel realized he hadn't drawn Chat Noir in a long time. Maybe he should try one day.

"So…now what?" Nathaniel asked, looking around the park. The thought of somebody accidently stumbling across them was a bit worrying.

Chat Noir smirked widely, "We do superhero things!"

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow, "Superhero things?"

"Yeah," Chat Noir said, grabbing Nathaniel's hand and tugging him along, "Come on, first thing we should do is to jump."

Nathaniel was quiet for a few seconds before he looked at the back of Chat Nori's head, "Jump? What do you-" he began before letting out a startled yelp when the cat superhero leaped through the air. He unfortunately pulled the other along with him.

As soon as Nathaniel's feet touched a roof, he ripped his wrist out of Chat Noir’s hand, "That was a terrible idea! I could have died."

"Dude, really, stay paws-Itive!" Chat Noir grinned.

Nathaniel's eyes twitched, "Seriously! More cat puns?"

"Hehe, I don't really like your catitude. You gotta relax a little," Chat Noir said, hands on his hips. He arched his back with his slit green eyes glowing.

"…I think your attitude is starting to grind on my nerve," Nathaniel grunted.

Chat Noir hummed, he cocked his head innocently, "The future, the present and the past walked into a bar. Things got a little tense," he laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh ha-ha, real funny," Nathaniel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "You're almost as bad as Mr Slonaker, and his annoying math puns."

Chat Noir’s grin widened, "Not all math puns are terrible. Just sum!"

Nathaniel had the strong urge to cover his face. He groaned softly, and rolled his eyes.

"The day you "am I a joke to you"," Chat Noir began, stepping up to Nathaniel's side and putting an arm around his shoulders, "is the day when you study for a science exam and realized that the exam is math!"

"Or even better! What does a mathematician say when something goes wrong?" he added brightly, "Figures!"

"Stop, seriously," Nathaniel said, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

Chat Noir bounced his eyebrows, "One bird can't make a pun. But toucan."

Nathaniel shook his head. He shrugged the arm of his arm, and began to walk away. He was trying not to smile, but his lips were forming the smile anyway.

"Okay, okay," he sighed, "What should I do first?"

Chat Noir stretched his arms out, "Alright!" he said happily, "You just jump. Like normally but with more of your might! As you're a superhero now, you'll find your strength and sense will be higher."

"My strength and sense?" Nathaniel repeated. He turned back to look across the street.

Chat Noir came up behind him, "Relax. It'll be purr-fectly okay!" he chimed, patting him on the shoulder.

The cat hero then arched his body. He took a running start and easily leaped to the next building. Chat Noir landed perfectly, and even did a cartwheel to show off. He then turned back to Nathaniel and waved with both arms over to him.

"R-Right," Nathaniel gulped.

The wolf hero stepped up to the building's edge. He looked over the edge, staring down at the busy street underneath with his heart beating painfully in his chest. He couldn't help but feel scared. What if he fell or tripped, or something? Chat Noir made it look easy.

"Come on! You can do it, Nat!" Chat Noir called over to him, cupping his mouth as he yelled.

Nathaniel peered over the edge of the building again. Another shiver ran down his spin, and he rubbed his arms, trying to push the fear back down. He let out a shaky breath, swallowing thickly and straightening his back.

"O-Okay, I-I can do this. I can do this," he mumbled to himself, his legs buckling underneath him.

He stumbled away from the edge. His eyes stared at the edge and inhaled sharply, arching his back. Nathaniel mentally prepared himself to run, pulling his arms tightly his chest. He waited a good couple of minutes before finally running forward. His heart was racing and echoing through his head.

His booted foot pushed against the edge of the building. Nathaniel wanted to close his eyes, but found his eyes un-listening, instead he was staring ahead as he jumped clumsily. It happened so fast. It was a blur.

There was so much wind. Pulling at his hair, his face, his suit, pulling at everything. He moved fast with his arms out. He landed on his tip-toes and suddenly felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Nathaniel began to feel himself moving backward. His eyes widened painfully, and he flared his arms out as he found himself falling backward. A clawed hand grabbed both of his elbows and he was pulled up onto the roof fully.

"Hey, hey, it's okay!" Chat Noir said, easing him onto the roof.

Nathaniel's legs shook. He looked wildly around himself before twisting on the balls of his feet and falling flat across the roof top. He stared up at the sky, still panting and struggling to gain his breathe.

He had done it. He had really leaped from one building to another.

Chat Noir grinned, his tail flaring slowly. He then laid down next to him with a laugh.

"You did it!" he said.

Nathaniel laid a hand over his chest, "Yeah…I guess I did," he said with a smile on his lips.

"How do you feel?" Chat Noir questioned softly.

"I feel really good weirdly enough," Nathaniel sighed.

Chat Noir chuckled. He rolled over onto his stomach, "It'll get way better! You'll see! It gets so much better, there is so much more!" his grin was becoming rather dangerously alluring.

Nathaniel hummed. He sat up straight, his legs jerked with the urge to pounce again. His eyes moved from the building he had just jumped from to the one next to them. He puffed out his cheeks, and twisted his lips, the feeling of determination setting in. He was up in a second, and running towards the edge.

"H-Hey!" Chat Noir yelped in surprise.

The wolf hero leaped, and this time, he landed somewhat better than the last time. He almost tripped over his feet, but was quite pleased with himself.

"Wait up," Chat Noir pouted, landing next to him.

Nathaniel couldn't help but smile. A swell of long forgotten excitement filled his chest, and he was off again.

"Oh! So you want to play like that, huh!" Chat Noir laughed.

He couldn't help it, Nathaniel found himself laughing too. Especially when Chat Noir easily caught up to him. The two began to race, jumping from building to building. They were twisting, and flipping through the air. Whenever Nathaniel accidently miss stepped, or slipped, Chat Noir seemed to be always there to catch him.

It was generally fun. Really. There was no faking it, Nathaniel found himself truly enjoying the race. Playing silly games with the other superhero. He is sure they had gained more than a few eyes from the civilians.

Nathaniel giggled as he tumbled to the ground next to Chat Noir. His face was flushed from running around, and he couldn't stop smiling. His cheeks were beginning to ache from the smile. He looked up at the darkening sky and sighed in happiness.

"See," Chat Noir panted with his own Cheshire cat grin, "I told yah it would be fun!"

Nathaniel hummed deeply, "Yeah, fun…alright, I'll admit it. That was pretty cool," he said after a moment.

Chat Noir's grin widened in triumph, "See ! I told you so!"

Nathaniel tilted his head to try and hear something. Honestly, his heart practically did a leap in his chest upon hearing the sound of a car speeding down the street. He had become so used to the quiet, he thought he would never truly hear again!

"Oh!" he gasped out, springing up.

Chat Noir cocked his head, "What's wrong?" he asked, excitement building upon his face. He too sat up, and looked at Nathaniel, "Your wolf ears, they're flashing!"

Nathaniel's eyes widened. His hands sprung up to the ears connected to his hearing aids, his fingers quickly wrapping around them. It was smooth, and oddly warm under his fingertips.

"You hear something?" Chat Noir questioned.

Nathaniel gulped, his lips twitched and he nodded his head, "Yeah! This way!" he said loudly, happily.

In his excitement, he got to his feet and grabbed Chat Noir’s wrist. He tugged lightly on the other hero to get him up, before they were immediately off. They easily moved from roof to roof, bouncing from one chimney to another. Until finally they landed near the bell tower.

"I don't see anything?" Chat Noir pouted.

Nathaniel looked around himself, his eyes running through along the long streets.

"Rose?" he said spotting the small girl.

Rose could be seen down in the street. She was running with her large blue eyes glassy with tears, just as she was about to cross the road, she caught her foot and sent her crashing down the ground.

"Rose!" Nathaniel gasped, moving towards her.

Chat Noir suddenly grabbed his elbow and pulled him back. This made the other male to turn on him with a glare, "What's your problem? Can't you see Rose needs our help?" he said, trying to pull his arm free of the cat's claw.

"Nathaniel," Chat Noir grunted, pointing ahead of them, "Look!"

Nathaniel turned to look at the bell tower. His eyes widened behind his mask upon seeing that figure once again. The very same one that had come from the shadows, across his home a few days ago. Immediately a chill ran down his spine, now that they were closer to the figure, they could see something else connected to it. Something long and dark was connected to its back, spider-like legs? He wasn't completely sure.

The mystery figure raised its hand again. It directed its hand in Rose's direction, and shot something towards her.

"Rose!" Nathaniel said in panic.

The girl looked up just as the thing hit her in the face. She let out a startled cry, as it seemed to seep into her face. Her hands sprung up to cover her face, with her shoulders hunched. She began to wail, rocking side to side chaotically.

"Rose?" Nathaniel repeated, landing close to her and crouching down, "H-Hey, Rose?"

Unlike other girls in his class, Rose had been nice to him. It upset him to see her in such sudden pain. Her wailing becoming louder and louder with each passing second. Nathaniel swallowed, he hadn't ever heard such a sound before and it really made his stomach ache with pain.

"Rose," he mumbled quietly.

Nathaniel began to reached a hand. He went to touch his classmate's arm, when she suddenly jolted away from him. She flared a hand out to hit Nathaniel, revealing her face. Nathaniel immediately shot back in shock, his eyes wide and jaw slack.

"I thought you said people don't get akumatized anymore!" he cried out.

Chat Noir, landing next to him with a pale face and wide surprised eyes, "They don't! Hawk Moth was defeated months ago!"

"Then what is this?" Nathaniel asked, avoiding a sudden attack from his normally kind and sweet classmate.

Chat Noir opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He flipped back and landed much like a cat, "I-I don't know," he admitted quietly.

Poor Rose. The sweet, and cute girl had suddenly changed. Her face was greenish, with what looked like white webbing marks on her face. Her hair had become a dark black colour, and when Nathaniel jumped to avoid another attack, he saw what looked like the marking of a white skull on top of her head. Her nails had become black, matching her hair. They were long and sharp, looking a lot like Wolverine's claws.

Nathaniel looked back up at the bell tower. His eyes flickered upon seeing the figure gone as if they weren't there to begin with.

"Well?" he said, "You're the superhero. What do we do?"

Chat Noir winced, "Ladybug normally purifies akumatized people, I haven't got a faintest idea what to do here!" he said in a panic, "Remember, it was only petty crime we dealt with now! Hawk Moth had been defeated which meant there was no more akumas!"

Nathaniel snorted. He gestured to their transformed friend.

"That is not an akumatized citizen!" Chat Noir defended himself, "I don't know what that is!"

Nathaniel sighed deeply. He looked down at Rose, the poor girl was screeching and somehow able to uproot a lamppost. How she was able to do that was beyond him. Rose is such a small person, he didn't think she would have the strength to do that normally.

"Whatever it is, we have to stop it," he said, "Rose doesn't deserve to be used like this."

Chat Noir looked down at Rose. He cocked his head, as he observed her, "The webbing."

"Hm?" Nathaniel blinked in confusion.

"It was web," Chat Noir said in realization, "It was webbing. It's on her face."

Nathaniel peered down at Rose face, "You're right. There is webbing on her face. Was it web the person shot at her? Do you think she'll return to normal if we take it off?"

"It's worth a try, right?" Chat Noir said.

Nathaniel nodded in determination. How were they going to remove the web from her face? The web looked like it had been imprinted onto her skin, like a tattoo. Last time Nathaniel checked it was almost impossible to remove a tattoo, but Rose didn't have that mark last time.

Chat Noir pulled out his wooden staff in time to shield himself from an attack. He then had to jump out the way when Rose threw the lamppost at them.

"Hey, don't you have a weapon?" Chat Noir asked.

Nathaniel jerked. A weapon? He should have a weapon right? Chat Noir had his trusty wooden staff, and if he remembered correctly Ladybug had a yoyo. What did he have? He searched himself, patting his hands down his white and orange suit.

"Um, n-not really…." He breathed out.

Chat Noir had to do a double check, "What? Are you serious! Everyone's always got something!"

Nathaniel felt annoyance twitch through him, "If you want to check yourself, go right ahead!" he said, throwing his arms out, "But I'm saying I haven't got anything!"

Chat Noir looked at Nathaniel. His green slit eyes narrowed, and within a flash, he was suddenly in the other male's personal space. Their nose suddenly close to bumping together. Chat Noir then grabbed something pressed up to Nathaniel's hip and pulled it up.

"Then what's this?" he asked, seemingly innocent but yet stern at the same time.

Nathaniel gulped. He looked at the object which Chat Noir had so close to his face, "Oh," he breathed out, his face heating up with embarrassment.

"What is it, anyway?" Chat Noir questioned curiously or Chat Noir questioned in curiosity.

Nathaniel stumbled away from the cat hero. He peered down at the thin object and took it from Chat Noir’s claws. It was connected to his hips by a long orange small cord. It was white in colour with orange pads on the top and bottom. It was thin, but long and easily held between his fingers.

"It's a stylus," Nathaniel said in surprise, his eyebrows rising to his hairline, "It's a, um, pen of some sorts used for tablets and Wacom's…really expensive…"

Chat Noir nodded in understanding. He looked between Nathaniel and Rose worriedly, "Great! So what can it do! Can it help us with Rose, or what?" he asked in hurry.

Rose had become tired of waiting it seemed. She turned around, and let out another screech. She was beginning to stomp towards a closed shop, other people had ran away in fear as she approached. It looked like she wanted to bring harm to the other civilians around them, waiting and watching to see what will happen.

"Ah, Rose! Wait!" Chat Noir gasped in concern. He moved after Rose, saving a poor woman from having a long-nailed hand shoved through her face.

Nathaniel breathed deeply. He clenched the stylus, and cursed his luck. Of course he would get the most useless weapon ever! What could a damn stylus do? Doesn't a stylus need a screen? There was no screen's in sight!

"Rose," he said, landing close to her, "This isn't you! Come on Rose, you know what you're like, and this isn't it! You don't want to hurt people! Remember your speech? You didn't want anybody trying solve their solutions with violence!"

Rose screeched at him in response. Her once beautiful blue eyes, now a green colour with inner red pupils. She threw her hand towards him once more, and Nathaniel narrowly avoided being hit. They were so close to his face, that realization appeared across his face.

"They have venom on, or in, or whatever," he said, "Don't let them cut you."

Chat Noir groaned, "Oh, that's just great," he said.

The cat hero then suddenly caught his foot, and hit his head on a wall. He grumbled and rubbed his now throbbing head. He then was able to use his staff to swipe at Rose's legs, sending her to ground just as she was about to attack another civilian.

Nathaniel shakily inhaled. He held the stylus tightly, and as his fingers pressed into the orange pad, he heard a click. His eyes immediately dropped to it, and waited as the tip of the pen glowed orange. He stared for a few seconds and then looked back at Rose, he chewed the inside his mouth in wonder.

His body moved without his brain truly knowing. He found himself holding Rose now with his left hand, while his right hand held the stylus to her face. Before he knew it, was drawing an unknown symbol above her face. It glowed before breaking apart and spreading over her face, as it did so, the white webbing mark on her face began to glow orange. It lifted from her face before looking like a real web had been placed over it. Immediately, Nathaniel pulled the web off and as he did so, Rose's body returned to how it originally was. All the way down to her cute pink sweater.

He let out a shaky gasp, pulling away from her and crawling backward. His legs twisted underneath him as he held the web up. The stylus then began to glow a full white colour, rather than orange. He glanced between them before he held the pen up. Like before, he found himself drawing an orange line in the air around the webbing. The circle turned into a bubble that contained the webbing, before it disappeared in a flash of white sparkles.

Nathaniel's shoulders sagged as the threat had faded away. He looked around the now destroyed street. The fear swelled in his chest upon seeing the damage. Just blinked a few times, and couldn't help but blame himself. If only had figured out what to do earlier, he might have been able to prevent such…ruin…

A click erupted from himself. Nathaniel looked down in time to see the wires in his suit glowing orange, and as it did so, an orange screen appeared in front of him. The screen had something that reminded him of the very expensive drawing software he had seen on the computer, something similar to photoshop…but on the screen was the ruined street.

"W-What?" he whispered.

Nathaniel's eyes looked between the stylus in his hand and the screen. With a shaky hand, he held the stylus up and when he tapped on one of the damaged buildings on the screen, it returned to its original state. He found himself looking up to check if what was on the screen was the same as the street…it was. The building was suddenly fixed…

Once he returned the whole street to normal, the screen disappeared. He wasn't sure how to call it up again, and when he tried, nothing came. Nathaniel sighed, and rubbed his temples. He turned to look at Rose when he heard her groan.

"Rose!" he gasped, moving to her side, "How do you feel? Are you alright?"

Rose blinked her wide blue eyes, "What happened?" she squealed in soft voice.

Nathaniel held her, an arm around her shoulders. He carefully eased her up to her feet, "You're alright now Rose," he smiled.

Chat Noir, who had been standing on the side-lines watching with wonder and awe, stepped up to Nathaniel's side. He smiled down at Rose, and waved when she looked at him.

"You two saved me?" Rose breathed out, a hand to her head.

"Do you remember anything, Rose?" Chat Noir asked.

Rose whimpered, looking like a kicked puppy, "N-No. I-I was walking home late, and this…I don't know. It looked like a person but they had spider-legs, I don't know…" she whimpered, rubbing her arms and letting out a hiccup.

"They shot something at me, and t-then I was just so angry," she mumbled, "Everything else was blur."

Nathaniel frowned, "It's alright now Rose."

Rose sniffled, she looked up at Nathaniel and smiled weakly, "Yes. Thank you, thank you so much f-for saving me. Chat Noir and…." She frowned worriedly, "I-I'm sorry, I don't know your name…"

Chat Noir grinned, he wrapped an arm around Nathaniel's shoulders, "Oh! That's because he's a new hero! Just started today in fact!" he winked playfully.

"Oh!" Rose gasped, "Then what's your superhero name! I need to know the name of my saver!"

Nathaniel felt his face heating up again. He wasn't used to having so much attention or praise.

"M-My name?" Nathaniel mumbled quietly.

A name? He hadn't thought about that. What should he call himself? Kurfee said he was from Greece. That he was a Greek Kwami…Nathaniel felt like he should honor that.

"Lýkos."

Rose blinked, "I-Lýkos?" she repeated cutely.

Nathaniel bit his bottom lip, he nodded his head, "Y-Yes, my name is Lýkos. It means wolf in Greek."

"Oh! So you're Greek!" Rose gasped with a bright smile.

"You could say that," Nathaniel hummed with a weak smile himself.

"Rose!" another voice cried out.

They turned to see a familiar person come pushing through the crowd towards the blonde. Her black and purple hair bouncing along as she ran, and wrapped her arms tightly around the smaller girl with worry.

"Rose! Are you alright? I was so worried! You were all over the television! I couldn't believe it!" Juleka said, "I can't believe you were akumatized."

Rose giggled cutely, and hugged Juleka back, "I'm fine now. Chat Noir and Lýkos, saved me."

"I see," Juleka looked over at the two heroes, "Well, thank you."

Chat Noir waved, "It was no problem my lady," he said with his head bowing a little.

Juleka nodded her head. She held Rose closely before gently edging her way, "Come on. Let's get you home before something else happens."

"You're right. But Juleka, I wasn't akumatized," Rose said, following after her, "It wasn't a butterfly, and it wasn't like before. It was a spider! And a web!"

Nathaniel stared after his two classmates. He put a hand to his head, before jerking when he heard loud beeping filling the air. He glanced around himself, before realizing it was coming from his hearing aids. His hand shot up to cover them with his face paled.

"Come on Lýkos, let's get going!" Chat Noir grinned widely, taking him by the wrist just as his ring began to beep to.

With that, the two the two disappeared disappeared. Chat Noir led him back to the park, and just as they landed, their suits disappeared in flashes. They returned back to their normal forms. Nathaniel looked down at him, and let out a sigh of relief at seeing his favourite over-sized sweater rather than the white and orange wired suits.

Nathaniel felt a chill run up his spin. Everything was suddenly so quiet. He couldn't even hear the busing roads anymore. It took him a few seconds to realize, like the suit, his hearing had disappeared as well…he couldn't hear anymore…at the realization his eyes were beginning to tear up.

"Are…hey?" Adrien said, the grin on his face falling. He grabbed Nathaniel's shoulders and pulled him closer, "Hey, what's wrong? A-Are you alright? Why are you crying?"

"D-Didn't you have fun? I mean other than that spider-person and poor Rose…I thought…" Adrien trailed off with a wince.

Nathaniel shook his head. He pressed his palms into his eyes, with his shoulder shaking. He slowly fell down to his knees, with the other following. He could feel a hand on his back, suddenly rubbing gently in hopes of comforting him but Nathaniel could only feel another bubble of sobs come on.

"It's gone," he managed to get out. It was just as distorted as it was before, barely heard and bubbled in his ears. It was horrible, and only made the tears fall harder.

"Nat, I'm sorry," Kurfee's small voice mumbled, "I thought it would make you happy…."

With a reddish face, Nathaniel looked up to see his exhausted Kwami floating towards him. The poor little wolf looked like he was about to drop like potatoes any moment. Kurfee moved straight to Nathaniel, and curling up to his chest.

Realization was on Adrian's face. Sadness covered his face. His lips twitched into a small frown. He rubbed Nathaniel's back gently, before pulling the other boy into a hug.

"I'm sorry Nathaniel."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do you think? do you like nat's suit? haha! i love his power! it's like Ladybug's but the artistic version (winkie face) 
> 
> if you have any thoughts or suggestions feel free to post em!
> 
> thank you again!


	4. Deep Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! omg! i never expected so many people enjoying this! thank you so much! i really appreciate all of you!  
a big thank you to my new beta: Blu! thank you so much for going over this!

"Nat?"

Nathaniel hummed.  He rolled over in his bed to look at the tiny wolf laying next to him, large red eyes stared back.

"I'm alright Kurfee," he whispered, covering the small fluffy body with his hand.  Kurfee purred, and nuzzled the skin, 

"Are you sure?"

With his free hand, Nathaniel touched his hearing aids, "Yeah…I just forgot is all…"

"O-Oh," Kurfee mumbled quietly, "I'm sorry. I should have warned you."

Nathaniel shook his head, "It's alright. In that form, a-as…as Lýkos, I can hear so much. I can hear everything…but as me, I can hear almost nothing. It was a shock is all. I had forgotten about my…thing."

Kurfee's ears folded inward, "I'm really sorry Nat."

Nathaniel chuckled. He curled up on his side, and gently stroked Kurfee between his twitchy ears, "I'm fine now…Adrien took care of me."

That was so strange to him. After he had transformed back, and broken down in tears over suddenly no longer being able to hear, Adrien had really been there for him. Did his best to help comfort him, even if he still had that look.

Nathaniel sighed.

"Nat?" Kurfee whimpered quietly.

"Hmm?" Nathaniel turned towards Kurfee. His eyes immediately softened, and he gently brought the tiny wolf closer to him, "Hey. I mean it Kurfee. I'm fine."

Kurfee shook his head slowly, "But…I should have said, I-I mean…our miraculous can only do so much…a-and I should have warned about-about the hearing ability."

"Kurfee," Nathaniel said, scratching underneath the tiny wolf's chin, "it's not your fault. I was just surprised, shocked. It was so amazing being a…hero with you that I forgot."

Kurfee sniffed. He furrowed his ears and curled up tightly, "A-Are you sure?"

Nathaniel smiled weakly, he lightly kisses Kurfee on the head, "I'm serious. I'm fine, or at least I will be. I just need time. You've already done so much for me anyway Kurfee."

Kurfee purred softly. He snuggled further into Nathaniel's hand, his white ears twitching as wiggled.

Nathaniel sighed. He tilted his head upward to peer out of his now closed window. He watched as the rain began to drip along the glass. His mind turned back to the incident earlier and, other than the sudden change from being partially deaf to having inhuman hearing as Lýkos, Nathaniel still felt anxious.

The incident was all over the news. What had happened with Rose was plastered everywhere and Nathaniel couldn't help but be a little surprised at seeing the news story on television so quickly. It had happened barely two hours ago, and it was already being reported on.

'Are people being Akumatized again?'

That was the question. Adrien had said it wasn't an Akumatized person, that it was something else. Nathaniel felt inclined to believe him but then that brought on the question of what the hell was happening!? Who was that person in the black robe and why were they turning up everywhere Nathaniel went?

Were they really following him? And not Chat Noir? Nathaniel felt terrified at the thought.

Poor Rose, being turned into that that monster. It wasn't like when somebody was Akumatized. She looked the same, wore the same clothes, but her hair changed, her eyes changed and her nails…they was poisoned and long. She had unusual strength, considering she was able to pull out a street lamp how she had.

Nathaniel sighed deeply. His eyes slid shut. He really did have to see Adrien tomorrow about it. The model had told him so anyway…he wondered if that meant the guy would be bringing Marinette, er, Ladybug.

Maybe Ladybug would know what to do…and how to handle this.

Nathaniel sure as hell didn't.

~#~#~#~#~#~

The next day, Nathaniel was surprised to find his kitchen was occupied by two other people. He entered the room awkwardly, clutching his sketchbook to his chest as he stepped through the doorframe. Not that he ever really used the book anymore, it was just a comfort feeling, having it pressed to his chest like this.

"N-Nathaniel," his mother said, looking at him with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

Nathaniel presses his lips together. He slowly sat down at the table with his head slightly arched downward. He didn't show any signs of hearing her distorted voice. 

His eyes seemed to zoom in on his father's tensed hands. His father's coffee was untouched, his newspaper laying innocently on the table.

He could see a picture of Rose on the front page. It looked like it had been taken against her consent, as she tried to shield herself in Juleka's arms. Juleka was glaring at the camera, while trying to shove it away with her hand. It clearly didn't help as the camera was able to get a good enough photo of the cute, wide eyed blonde.

Nathaniel could only imagine what the story said. It was just so confusing.

"How's college?" his father's deep voice grunted tiredly.

Nathaniel swallowed thickly, hunching up his shoulders. His mother placed a bowl in front of him, and Nathaniel almost snorted at how  cliché it was. Porridge, eggs and bacon. It was put together to make a smiley face.

"I-Is everyone treating you alright?" his mother asked kindly, sitting down next to him. She placed a gentle hand onto his shoulder, and Nathaniel winced a little.

'Nobody told Madam Mendeleiev, she thought I was ignoring her,' Nathaniel wrote.

His mother was silent for a few minutes. She shifted next to him and frowned, her eyes glanced over to his father. Nathaniel refused to look over at his father, instead looking down at his open sketchbook. It only contained words now.

"O-Oh? I swore I had spoken with her," his mother finally said.

"I'll have a word with her," his father interrupted in a deep voice that sent a horrible shiver up Nathaniel's spine.

Nathaniel found himself looking up despite the fact he didn't want to. His father had a blank, exhausted expression. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, before he suddenly stood.

"Where are you going?" his mother quickly asked, looking up at the man.

The man shrugged, "Work."

"B-But you said you had the day-" she began, quickly standing too.

"Then out!" his father snapped, waving her off as he grabbed his coat, "I'll be back later on tonight."

His mother looked like she wanted to protest. Her mouth opened but then she shut it. She made a sound that Nathaniel only just heard, even if it was something strange for Nathaniel. She clenched her hands, before shaking her head furiously. She then began to straighten her white dress. She signed deeply, and turned back to her son.

"Don't mind your father. He's just coping in his own way," she smiled.

Nathaniel frowned. He doubted that. Before he lost his hearing, his father was so talkative, friendly and just so happy. Nowadays he was the opposite. Nathaniel knew it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help blaming himself.

"Other then Madam Mendeleiev, are you having any other problems?" she questioned.

Nathaniel shook his head. No, yeah, he was. He had this crazy person in a black robe following him around, and a blonde cat boy who kept pushing him to fight 'crime' with him. Yeah, it's just perfect.

'No, everything is fine,' he wrote.

His mother looked down at the words. She crushed her cherry red lips together, and nodded her head. She then proceeded to clean up his father's untouched breakfast and coffee. Nathaniel watched her before looking down at his own breakfast, he really wasn't hungry. His appetite hadn't been the same since he lost his hearing…

"Oh," his mother gasped. She stiffened up as it looked like she suddenly remembered something, "I have something for you."

Nathaniel peered up at her. He watched as she shuffled around, looking for something. When she found it, she bristled and quickly returned to him with a medium sized object. It was thick, and square shaped. She smiled, and placed the book down.

"Miss Hallervan, from down the road, gave me this," she said, "I thought it could be…fun?"

Nathaniel blinked once, then twice, down at the heavy book. Sign Language. The book was on learning sign language for beginners. His lips twitched, and he then stared back up at his mother. He thought his parents wanted him to act like normal, speak and hear normally now that he has his hearing aids.

Sigh Language, it was something Nathaniel had looked into before…

'Thank you,' he finally wrote after a long moment of silence. Of his mother just awkwardly standing in front of him.

His mother smiled at him and it was such a beautiful smile. Nathaniel felt guilty for making her worry. He felt guilty for a lot of things, the problems between his parents for example, were rooted from him. From his condition.

Nathaniel felt his lips parting. Just as he was about to speak, there was a knock at the door. Nathaniel didn't hear it, but judging from the way his mother immediately turned to the door, he assumed somebody had knocked on it.

"Oh, somebodies at the door," his mother said, "I was sure we weren't going to get any visitors today."

Nathaniel frowned himself. Nobody knocked on their door. It was a little strange, and he soon found himself trailing behind his mother. He held his sketchbook tightly, and shyly checked on Kurfee, the small wolf was snoozing away in his over-sized sweater pocket. Thank god his parents hadn't noticed the small snores.

His mother straightened her dress, and then smoothed her hair down. She took a deep breathe and plastered a somewhat strained smile on her face. Nathaniel had to admit, he was so much like his mother. She then took the door handle and pulled it open.

"Hello?" she said loudly.

Immediately something in Nathaniel's stomach dropped. Disbelief crawled across his face. Seriously?

"Ah, hello Madam Kurtzberg," a familiar blonde haired boy greeted.

The woman blinked in surprise. She glanced back at her son, and then back to Adrien, "Why hello there, Monsieur Agreste. M-May I help you?"

Adrien had that dazzling smile on his face once more, "Oh no. I'm sorry to bother you, it's just that Nathaniel and I are project partners. We're supposed to present it Monday and I just wanted to go over it again."

"Really?" his mother was quick to reply. Her large blue eyes growing if it was possible, and she looked down at her son, her eyes shining bright with happiness.

Nathaniel sheepishly shrugged, 'Yeah…we're project partners.'

"Oh!" his mother gasped, stepping aside, "I'm so pleased you're making friends! It seems your father was right on sending you back to college!"

Adrien smiled happily as he entered the house, "I think we're becoming good fri-"

'We're not friends, just project partners!' Nathaniel scribbled down.

His mother read the words with a tiny frown that quickly disappeared into a smile. The smile grew when she looked between the two boys. She then tilted her head, and chuckled, "Well then, don't mind me. I've got errands to run anyway, why don't you boys go work in the kitchen?"

Nathaniel puffed out his cheeks. He thought his mum said she had the day off today and didn't need to do anything. Since when did she have errands? He narrowed his eyes suspiciously as his mother quickly began to grab her belongings, keys, purse and coat.

"Now Hun, if you do end up leaving the house, you know where we keep the spare keys," she said as she kisses him on the cheek.

Nathaniel's face turned the same colour of his hair. Especially from the amused expression on Adrien's face. Before he could do anything, his beloved mum was already out the house.

"She seems nice," Adrien said.

"Why are you here?" Nathaniel asked in annoyance.

The voices fuzzy in his ears, before he was close enough to read the taller boys lips. Besides, he doesn't recall agreeing to have Adrien over the next day. Especially when his mother was home. Even before the event, she had pushed him to making friends, to bring a friend home. Just as it seemed like she was accepting he was loner, Adrien had to go and ruin that. Nathaniel was fine being by himself.

"I thought I would come see you," Adrien shrugged, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't like me."

Nathaniel frowned deeply. His Chat Noir was showing though, and he really questioned how he never saw it before. Even if he was out of commission for 6 months. It was so obvious.

"I never invited you over," Nathaniel said, "You're supposed to, um, call or something."

Adrien smiled even wider than before, "Yeah, but you never gave me your number. So how was I supposed to call you?"

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. He turned around, and began to make his way back to the kitchen. He assumed Adrien was following. He flopped down at the kitchen table with a sigh, and glared up at the blonde model. He sat and waited.

Adrien, looking around the kitchen with that same damn smile, finally sat down across from him. His eyes flickered, "Sign language? Are you learning it?"

"Ma brought it in today. Thought it would be fun to learn," Nathaniel shrugged.

"Hey. Why don't we learn it together? It would fun!" Adrien said brightly.

Nathaniel's lips twitched. He didn't want to admit it, but the way his muscles twitched from the sudden excitement made him want to learn it together. However, he held it back and innocently shrugged.

"M-Maybe," he said shakily, looking off to the side sheepishly.

Adrien simply kept smiling. He was just too friendly, in Nathaniel's opinion, "About yesterday, you know after-"

"F-Forget about that," Nathaniel said, flushing from embarrassment.

Adrien frowned. His eyebrows pulled together, and he leant forward, "No. I won't forget about it, Nathaniel. It's not something that you should ignore," he said.

Nathaniel covered his face. It was so embarrassing to think about. How he broke down in tears in from of Adrien, and the guy had to comfort him. Adrien had even hugged him at one point in hopes it would make him feel better.

"Nathaniel," Adrien said, "I'm sorry. It was a big shock, and I'm sorry that I couldn't be more help. I wish there was more I could do."

"It's…not your fault," Nathaniel said, his fuzzy voice filling his ears, "It's just something I have to put up with, and my miraculous…"

Adrien frowned. He looked like was going to say something before he shook his head, "But I should have known, I mean your miraculous are hearing aids. I should have seen it."

Why was Adrien talking as if it was his responsibility? Like Nathaniel was his responsibility? It unnerved him.

"…It's not your responsibility," Nathaniel spoke after a moment of silence. He raised an eyebrow.

Adrien breathed in sharply, "But it is. I pushed, and pushed, and pushed. I forced you into activating your miraculous and combining with Kurfee. It was my fault. When you said you could hear everything, I should have figured it out."

Nathaniel stared at Adrien in surprise. He didn't realize Adrien felt like that, and for some reason, it made him feel…good. However, he still shook his head. It wasn't Adrien's responsibility. Nathaniel had eventually agreed to become a superhero, to transform with Kurfee. Honestly, he should have known as soon as Kurfee explained their miraculous. They are hearing aids, after all.

"No. T-Thank you for…caring so much for me, like that…but at the end of the day, it's not your fault," Nathaniel finally spoke, "You…You helped me afterward, and that's more than enough."

"Give me your number."

Nathaniel blinked. He wondered if he had heard the other right, he was deaf after all. He bristled, and looked at Adrien. He blinked many times as he stared, and finally, after a long moment silence, his lips parted.

"W-What?" he asked.

Adrien breathed in, and smiled brightly, "I'll accept it wasn't my fault if you give me your number."

"That's…ridiculous," Nathaniel said.

The other shrugged, "It might be, but I'd really like to have a way to contact you. It'll be good for us," he said happily.

"It feels more like a bribe…" the red haired male said.

Adrien just smiled. It glowed at him, dazzling him. "You can think of it as a bribe if that is what you want."

Nathaniel just stared. When Adrien tilted his head innocently, Nathaniel finally got to his feet. He narrowed his eyes down at the still sweetly smiling boy, as he went to retrieve his mobile. It probably wasn't as flashy or as expensive as the mobile Adrien had, but he didn't care.

"Here," Nathaniel grunted, handing it over.

He had never seen somebody looking so...pleased. Adrien was practically glowing with light, like he had won some type of lottery. Nathaniel felt rather shy all of a sudden and turned away. His eyes immediately went down to Kurfee who was still sleeping in his large pocket. He wondered where Plagg was, Adrien had to have brought him, right?

"There," Adrien said, "I've even added my number."

Nathaniel looked down at his mobile. He stared at the screen with the number proudly being displayed. What was worse was the name Adrien put in. Nathaniel could almost feel his face heating up as he read it.

"Really?" Nathaniel said.

Adrien shrugged, "I thought it suited me," he said with a grin.

Nathaniel rolled his eyes, "Monsieur Feline Good? That's so…Chatty."

"Why thank you. I thought it was purrfect," Adrien winked.

With a deep sigh that covered the soft chuckle that begged to come out, Nathaniel bit his bottom lip. He looked back at Adrien's green eyes, "You know…it's said Cats have nine lives. That makes them ideal for experimentation."

"Fur real?" Adrien fake gasped, before laughing.

Nathaniel felt his own lips twitch into a small smile, "Pawsibily?"

"Aw that's cute," Adrien said.

It was then that Kurfee decided to wake up. The small white wolf crawled out of his pocket with a loud yawn, he rubbed his tried eyes with his little paws and his ears began twitching.

"Morning Nat," he said, floating in front of him, "Oh. Adrien's here too?"

Adrien waved, "Hi Kurfee."

Kurfee blinked his red eyes, "Is Plagg here too?"

Adrien chuckled. He carefully brought his backpack to the table unzipped it, immediately Kurfee dived in. He moved so fast that it surprised both Adrien and Nathaniel.

"Ew, what's that?" Kurfee's voice filled out.

"Ew?" Plagg's high pitch voice was muffled, "What do you mean Ew! This beautiful thing is camembert!

Kurfee snorted, "It smells!"

"No way! You just don't have good taste!" Plagg snapped in return, "Try some! Go on!"

"No way!"

Nathaniel awkwardly shifted, "It does…smell," he admitted.

"It really does," Adrien agreed slyly.

"I heard that!" Plagg cried.

Nathaniel couldn't help it. He let out a soft laugh, "Kurfee likes lemons. I don't know how he eat so many. He says the more sour they are, the better," he explained.

Kurfee poked his head out of the back, "Lemon? We have lemons Nat!"

"Ha! Lemons are so much worse then camembert!" Plagg snickered, appearing next to Kurfee.

Kurfee frowned, he puffed out his fluffy cheeks, "No they're not! At least they smell nice! Camembert smells like doodoo!"

Plagg made a horrified gasp. His green eyes widened, "How dare you!" he cried, suddenly holding camembert in his paw and shoving it into Kurfee's mouth.

"P-Plagg!" Adrien gasped, grabbing the floating cat. Plagg immediately began to wiggle about.

Kurfee swallowed whatever was in his mouth. He straight away flashed over to Nathaniel with a cry, "It burns! I'll get you for this Plagg!"

"I'll be looking forward to it!" Plagg said, flaring his paws about, "…You'll still play naughts and crosses with me, right?"

Kurfee blinked back at the cat, "Yeah. I'll win again."

"In your dreams!" Plagg said.

Nathaniel shook his head. He watched as Adrien released the cat, and the two quickly made their way to his forgotten sketchbook on the table. They pushed it open to an empty page and began to play their game, which turned to out to be hang man, and a few others.

Adrien sheepishly laughed. He rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry about…him," he said. Plagg snorted at that but didn't say anything, instead he made a comment that seemed to annoy Kurfee.

"It's alright…" Nathaniel said.

At least Kurfee had made a friend, but he can't help feeling a little jealous over it. Kurfee was his friend, his best friend. Nathaniel sighed, but smiled. Kurfee seemed so happy, and that made him feel happy.

Adrien smiled down at them for a few seconds, "About yesterday…I had to tell Ladybug, you understand that, right?" he asked seriously.

Nathaniel pulled out of his thoughts. Of course. That made sense. There was no way they could hide it. What had happened was all over the news. It was everywhere. He's pretty sure poor Rose had been stalked by interviewers or something.

"U-Understandable," Nathaniel said softly.

"So…" Adrien began, "She wants to…meet you."

Nathaniel immediately stiffened up, "W-What? Why would M-Ladybug want to meet me?"

Adrien shrugged, "Um, well, it could be because you're now a hero like us. Or maybe it's because you saved Rose? Or maybe it's your weapon, and that you was able to purify the web…or maybe the spider guy?"

"Alright, alright," Nathaniel sighed, "I get the picture…"

Nathaniel bites his bottom lip harshly. He whimpered softly to himself. He didn't want to go see Ladybug. It reminded him of being Akumatized, of being The Evillustrator. That happened because of his crush on Ladybug. A shudder ran up his spine as he tried to think back to his time being The Evillustrator.

"Nathaniel," Adrien spoke, placing a hand onto his shoulder.

"Nathaniel. It'll be alright," he spoke gently, "You don't need to worry. Ladybug's on your side."

"M-My side?" Nathaniel breathed, "How could she be on my side?"

Adrien frowned and his eyes softened, "She's always on the side of people needing help. Ladybug has been hoping you'll agree to see her. She wants to see you, a lot. After yesterday, she's more worried about you than anything else, and she really wants to help."

Nathaniel stared, "I don't know Adrien. I really don't…I'm used to being on my own, to doing things by myself."

"You don't need to think like that anymore," Adrien quickly said, "You're not by yourself now. You've got Kurfee, me, Plagg and Ladybug."

Nathaniel closed his eyes. He leaned away from Adrien and a frown crossed his lips. Admittedly, he really did want to see Ladybug. He had avoided looking at anything Ladybug themed since losing his hearing, so maybe it would be good for him to see her, to talk to her. But did he even have the courage to do that?

Ladybug was just Marinette, and she was one of the kindest people Nathaniel had ever met…even if she was being so weird lately. This could explain that, but then again, she had been acting odd before Adrien finding out about Kurfee.

"Kurfee," Nathaniel said.

The little white wolf automatically stopped. He dropped the pencil he was holding, and floated towards Nathaniel. His large, glowing red eyes looked at him in wonder.

"W-What do you think Kurfee?" he asked, "S-Should we go see…Ladybug?"

Kurfee's ears twitched. He tilted his head back, and placed his small fluffy paw to his chin. His eyes flickered in thought, his tail twitching behind him, "I think we shouldn't."

Adrien's eyes widened, "But she's one of the strongest, and she'll know what to do. Ladybug is the one who took down Hawk Moth. If anybody could defeat this spider-person, it's Ladybug."

"That's a good point," Kurfee nodded, "But we're a new hero. Nat and I are still learning how to handle our power. We're not ready to join a team yet. I think it's hard enough on Nat with only you and Plagg. No offence."

Plagg waved, "None taken."

Adrien frowned. He looked off to the side in thought, "Then you don't need to join our team yet. Ladybug is probably so much better at teaching how to become a hero then me."

"Perhaps she is," Kurfee said, "It isn't fair to force Nat. He's only been a miraculous user for a few days."

Plagg floated up next to Kurfee. He turned upside, as if he was trying to grab his tail, "Would it be so bad to have a small meeting with Ladybug? You can go as Lýkos if it makes you feel better. Isn't it more to do with The Evillustrator then Ladybug?"

Kurfee grunted. He lightly pushed Plagg away when he moved too close to his face, "Be that as it may-"

"You're right," Nathaniel sighed, "Last time I saw Ladybug, I was The Evillustrator and because of that I lost my hearing. I'm…scared."

Adrien's eyes widened, before they softened. He once again placed a hand onto his shoulder, "You don't need to be. Being Akumatized doesn't mean anything. I'm sure she knows the real you…and how could it become worse?"

"…I could lose my hearing completely. Become completely deaf and no hearing aids can help," Nathaniel said dryly.

"Ah, sorry," Adrien sheepishly said.

Nathaniel shook his head, "Don't be. I think you're right. To get over this…fear of Ladybug, I have to go see her I guess. I should hear what she wants to say."

Adrien smiled, "There's nothing to be afraid of. I'll be right there with you."

"But I'm still not joining the team," Nathaniel said.

"Yet," Adrien grinned.

Nathaniel rolled his eyes.

~#~#~#~#~#~#~

The sun was still up, they made it to the park without any trouble. They had to walk down the street where Rose had gone berserk. It was strange to see the street untouched, like nothing had happened. He didn't really know how he was able to rebuild the street with just a screen and stylus. It was amazing, but scary to see. The Evillustrator had used a stylus too.

"Okay," Adrien said, turning around, "Everything is clear."

Nathaniel awkwardly shifted in front of him, "Right…"

"Plagg," Adrien called, and the floating cat immediately appeared, "Claws on!"

Nathaniel stared in wonder. He watched as Adrien's body began to glow brightly, and Plagg disappeared in a flash of dark light. He had seen it yesterday, and it still amazed him to watch it. Adrien's normal jeans and white jacket combo faded into a black, leather suit. The bell on his throat chimed as he stretched himself out.

Chat Noir grinned widely, "Ah, that's purrfectly better," he sang out teasingly, holding his tail and swinging it like a cowboy would.

He looked over at Nathaniel with gentle eyes, "It'll be alright. We're prepared this time."

Hands over his hearing aids, Nathaniel chewed his bottom lip, "…I know…" he said quietly. His heart was beating loudly.

Could he really transform into Lýkos? Lýkos's hearing was powerful, amazing…while Nathaniel's wasn't even close. Could he handle being able to hear as Lýkos, and then losing it all over again when he returns to Nathaniel?

"Hey," Chat Noir interrupted his thoughts, placing his arm around Nathaniel's shoulders, "It's alright to be nervous and afraid."

Nathaniel pressed his lips together, "But…I'll lose it again…and yesterday it…" he trailed off with a low whimper.

"And it'll probably continue to hurt," Chat Nori said, "And it'll be okay to cry over it, but eventually you'll become strong enough to deal with it."

Nathaniel tilted his head. He peered at the cat superhero thoughtfully. It was easier said than done, but he couldn't help feeling the need to suck it up. It may terrify him, but there was a flame inside him that made him want to be Lýkos, and help people. Save people…even if it hurt him in the end.

"I'll deal with it," Nathaniel said. His eyes flickered away from Adrien and the fuzzy, distorted tone of his voice echoed through his ears.

When he becomes Lýkos, that won't happen…

"K-Kurfee?" he said shakily.

"Nat!" Kurfee said happily but wearily. He moved closer to Nathaniel's face, and smiled cutely.

Nathaniel bit his bottom lip and swallowed thickly, "E-Ears up!"

"Ears up!"

…and then it happened again.

The familiar feeling of warmth coated him. His body felt light once more, like he had no weight at all. His body vibrated as the familiar silk, tight suit began to crawl across his skin. His heart skipped a beat as his hearing aids flared with warmth, and moved within his ears, forming their large wolf ears.

Lýkos let out a shaky breath. He lightly reached up to touch his now robotic ears on top of his head. Just as he was expecting, he could hear everything once again. Even a little ant running up the bark of the tree behind him. It hurt so much. He had to close his eyes firmly with his nose twitched, willing himself not to cry.

"Are you alright?" Chat Noir asked gently, his voice as clear as day.

It was perfect to his ears, but they aren't his ears. They don't belong to Nathaniel. They're Lýkos's ears.

"I will be," Lýkos spoke after a moment, stepping back from Chat Noir.

Chat Noir looked like he wanted to say something more, but in the end didn't. Instead he said, "Well, I'm here if you need me," in a serious tone.

Lýkos was a bit surprised as it was the first time he had heard Chat Nori speak in such an serious tone. He found himself smiling thankfully, and nodded his head. He sheepishly shifted on his feet, and looked around the park.

"Um. So where are we…meeting Ladybug?" he asked.

Chat Noir blinked slowly. He inhaled sharply through his nose, and peered around them, "Ah, this way. She said she would be by Passerelle des Arts."

A bridge. One of the beautiful bridges of Paris. Passarella des Arts, or Pont des Arts, is a bridge that crosses the River Seine. It leads to the central square of Paris.

Lýkos trailed along behind him, "…So…you guys like, met up or something?"

"Yeah, something like that," the cat hero chuckled, "We have 'hero' meetings. But most of the time we have a shared, secret chat we use."

"…a secret chat…" Lýkos repeated in slight disbelief, "You all sound like a bunch of-"

Chat Noir grinned widely, he turned around to walk backwards and leant closer to Lýkos's face, "Teenagers?"

The way the cat had said that, the tone of voice and the way his grin widened. Even his slit green eyes staring at him in a certain way. It took him roughly 5 minutes until his brain clicked, and his eyes widened.

"W-Wait! Is everyone from our-" he began.

Chat Noir moved closer to him and he put a clawed finger to his lips, "Shhh. You never know who's listening. But yes, they are," he chimed happily.

This new group of heroes are from his class. Of course they are. Ladybug is Marinette after all. Chat Noir turned out to be Adrien. Sure, Lýkos didn't know who these new heroes were quite yet, but he had a feeling he knew who they were and had even met them.

Finally, after a few seconds, Lýkos slapped Chat Noir's hand away. His face was pretty heated from embarrassment. He sighed, and began to stalk ahead of the cat.

"Meow," Chat Nori chuckled.

Feeling frustration grow, Lýkos glared over his shoulder, "Woof!"

A beautiful laugh echoed out from the cat hero, "Shouldn't it be, bark?"

Lýkos only whined. He decided not to answer that, and without thought, pushed himself up to the closest building roof. His shoulders hunched up, and while Lýkos was brave, outgoing and fast thinking…Nathaniel was not. Nathaniel was shy, awkward and tense…even as Lýkos, it was seeping through just a little.

Lýkos was everything Nathaniel was not. and he decided to blame it on the boy with the cat fetish who was following him. He was somehow getting underneath his skin.

After a lot of leaping from roof to roof, Lýkos found himself finally approaching the bridge. The bridge of Pont des Arts. There were a few people around, but since it was early in the morning, there wasn't that many. However, more people will eventually turn up due to the fact that Paris's heroes are being spotted on said bridge.

Lýkos is expecting people to be after more details of what happened yesterday. Poor Rose…

He awkwardly landed, his legs almost buckling underneath himself. He inhaled sharply, and grunted. It is a lot harder than he originally thought. It was going to take some time before he was able to move like Chat Noir, and probably Ladybug. Honestly, Lýkos was worried that he would somehow slip and fall to his death…but every time it felt like he was about to drop, Chat Noir was always there to grab him.

…but what will happen when Chat Noir is no longer with him?

Lýkos shook his head. He didn't want to think about that. He was still new at this, so he tried not to let it get to him…much.

Chat Noir does a fancy flip in the air, before he gracefully lands next to him, "Hey, Lýkos?" he said with the brightest, dazzling grin on his face.

"Hm?" Lýkos turned fully to the cat boy.

"The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn," he chimed brightly, and even winked at a giggling passing teenager girl.

Lýkos snorted, "Really?" he said, staring after the girl, "Do you always think about puns?"

"People often ask me if my French jokes are immature... wee," Chat Noir shrugged.

Lýkos sighed, but couldn't smiling. Chat Noir did have a thing for jokes and puns. The more time he spent with Adrien, the easier it was for Adrien to let loose. Adrien was just like his superhero self, and was always making puns, sure not as much as he did as Chat Noir, but it was enough to make him smile or laugh.

"Everyone has a friend who laughs funnier than he jokes," Lýkos nervously said.

Chat Noir let out a gasp, "Oh-Oh! That was a pun, my dear furend! The road to success is always under construction," he cheerfully said, leaning against the shorter hero playfully.

Lýkos's lips twitched into a small smile, "Don't you ever get tired of making puns? Or jokes…?" he asked softly.

"Do you know why I make puns? Because it's my repunsibility!" Chat Nori chimed, "But no. Not really."

Lýkos snorted. He shrugged the other hero off his shoulder, and began to walk forward. His eyes lifted to look around the bridge, searching for the girl in red and black. Ladybug. Where could she be? Surely she would be obvious, right? She would stick out like a sore thumb. They probably stood out like a sore thumb.

He wondered what she had to say. He wondered what her voice would be like, he had long since forgotten what his classmates voices were like. Maybe that's why he really liked Chat Nori's voice. Lýkos already loved hearing Kurfee. He was so used to hearing hardly anything, and what he did hear couldn't tell him what type of voice one had.

"Oh my god!" a voice squealed.

Lýkos winced, having not expected such a high pitched voice followed by more squealing. He turned his head to see a bunch of teenage girls, and a few boys, crowding the cat hero next to him. Chat Noir looked like he was enjoying the attention.

"Chat Noir! Chat Noir!" the girls cheered, flashing photos of the hero.

Chat Noir grinned widely, "Hello lovely ladies~" he said, making the girls swoon, "You're all looking clawfully beautiful this morning. Very purrty~"

Lýkos watched mutely. He found himself oddly fascinated with the way Chat Noir acted with his fans. They was practically showering him with affection, roses and candy. It was…interesting to say the least.

"Oh! Look!" one suddenly said.

"Isn't that the new hero?" another said.

"Lýkos! Lýkos! Lýkos!"

Lýkos found himself stumbling back when the small group turned on him. They was suddenly in his face, speaking all at once. It was beginning to really hurt his ears. His heart had quickly sped up with fear and every step he took back, they seemed to follow.

"Now-now ladies," Chat Noir said, wiggling his clawed finger at them. He slid up next to Lýkos and placed his arm around Lýkos's tensed shoulders, "One at a time. One at a time. You don't want to spook our little wolfie, right?"

Lýkos felt his face heat up at the sudden nick name. He almost opened his mouth to protest the name, when the fans seemed to follow Chat Noir's advice.

"Lýkos, you're the new hero, right? Are you apart of Défenseurs parisiens?"

Wide eyed, Lýkos swallowed a thick lump. He slowly nodded. Yes, he supposed he was a new hero…but what was Défenseurs parisiens? It was the first time he had heard that word…but that shouldn't really be a surprise.

"That's what Ladybug calls us sometimes," Chat Nori explained, "Paris defenders."

Of course they would have a name. Their group would have such a name, every superhero team has a name. Lýkos was kind of expecting their team name to be something with animals, as all the heroes had some sort of animal or insect theme. Hell, so does his!

Lýkos breathed in deeply, "N-No," he stuttered, "I-I'm not a part of… Défenseurs parisiens…"

The crowd looked disappointed. Their bright, and curious smiles dropped. It made him want to apologize. Lýkos would have taken a step back, but he couldn't as Chat Noir had a tight arm around him.

"Yet," Chat Noir chimed.

Lýkos grunted. He puffed his cheeks out, "There's no yet."

"Aw, don't be that way," Chat Noir grinned, "Never say never! I'm sure you'll warm up to us soon enough, and then you'll just be jumping to join us."

Lýkos rolled his eyes, "Never means never," he huffed.

Chat Noir pulled the shorter hero closer to him. He lets out a soft laugh, "Don't be so negative Wolfe. I'm sorry ladies, our precious Lýkos here, is very shy!" he sang out with a wink.

Lýkos, still tensed, pressed his lips together. He carefully turned out from Chat Noir's arm, which sent the poor cat tumbling. He inhaled sharply, in hopes to calm himself down. He forced a weak smile at the watching people.

"I-I'm new, c-completely new…a-and I haven't decided if-if I want to be…apart of…um D- Défenseurs parisiens," Lýkos explained shakily, "I don't know if I'm cut out to be hero, yet…"

One of the girls gasped, she stepped closer to Lýkos. Her eyes large, and sweet looking, "Aw! You're so modest! I'm sure you'll be a great hero Lýkos! I mean, who wouldn't want to be a superhero with such a nice suit?" she winked.

Lýkos found himself gulping. He arched his back, and awkwardly leant away from the woman.

"Who wouldn't want to be a part of Défenseurs parisies?" another fan chimed with a frown.

The comment was followed by a murmur of agreements. Slowly, the comments of awareness, and amazement faded into comments of confusion and slightly cruel words. Wondering if there was something wrong with their new defender? After all, who in their right mind would not want to have super powers and get to fight alongside Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Lýkos could feel his heart beating heavily in his chest. It was becoming increasingly painful. The comments that the fans were making were becoming too overwhelming for him. Lýkos tightened his gloved covered hands around his arms and bit down on his bottom lip.

"Er, okay um ladies," Chat Nori awkwardly cut in, this time he wrapped an arm around Lýkos's shoulders while his other crossed over Lýkos's chest, "Um, I think that's enough of the questions. We've got things to do now."

The fans let out moans of disappointment but whatever they were about to say was swallowed up by the wind. Lýkos found himself being guided away from the group by the cat hero, and once they got closer to one of the bridge's roof pillars, Chat Noir dropped his hands. Instead, the cat hero grabbed his wrist and pulled him along as he jumped up to one of the roof pillars.

Lýkos winced as he landed. He then sat down with his arms around his knees. He didn't have to look to know the fans had tried to follow, only to stand around below them talking to one another.

Chat Noir sheepishly waved down at the fans before he sat down next to Lýkos. He sighed to himself, "That's gonna end up in the news tomorrow."

"I bet it will be on the news this afternoon," Lýkos mumbled softly.

Chat Noir flinched, "I'm sorry about them-"

"But they're right," Lýkos interrupted, "I mean, there's something wrong with me. Isn't there? There has to be. Everyone wants to be a superhero and get to work alongside Ladybug…"

The cat hero shook his head, he opened his mouth to speak before another voice got there first.

"There's nothing wrong with not wanting to be a hero. It's not everyone's cup of tea, so don't beat yourself up over it. Some people are just close minded and don't understand just what it takes to be a hero."

"There's nothing wrong with you, Lýkos."

Lýkos was up in an instance. His eyes widened behind his mask, and he spun around in shock. He didn't even hear the woman approach, didn't even hear her climb aboard the roof.

"L-Ladybug!" he gasped out in a high pitched voice.

Chat Nori grinned widely, "Milady!" he winked.

Ladybug was just as he remembered, but yet not at the same time. She was taller, and looked stronger. More powerful. Her dark hair was longer, and she had it tied into a pair of pigtails by long red ribbons. Her body was covered by her bright red and polka dot black suit. The only different from all those months ago, she had knee length black boots and the long ribbons in her hair.

All in all, Ladybug was still just as beautiful as she was back then.

"Lýkos," Ladybug spoke in return, "Chat Noir, nice of you to finally show yourself."

Chat Noir sheepishly laughed, "I said I'm sorry," he said sweetly.

Ladybug rolled her eyes, "Yes, you've said."

Chat Noir simply nodded with a small grin, "Let me guess, I have the outer Paris patrol this week."

"I think you can handle more than that," Ladybug said, crossing her arms.

Lýkos shifted quietly. It was a little strange to see and he wondered just what the cat hero had done to upset Ladybug? She looked pretty disappointed right now, but it only lasted a few seconds as Ladybug breathed in and suddenly she looked happy once more. She looked more levelheaded and calm, just like the leader of a group of heroes should be.

"It's nice to finally met you Lýkos," Ladybug said, addressing the wolf hero once more, "I've heard a lot about you."

Lýkos felt his face heating up. He swallowed a thick lump, and nodded his head, "Y-Yes, nice to…um, finally meet you too, Ladybug."

The last time he had seen Ladybug, was when he was The Evillustrator. He had forced Ladybug on a date, and Lýkos couldn't help but feel ashamed for his actions. He found himself looking away nervously. The last time he had been this close to Ladybug, was w hen he was akumatized …which lead to him losing his hearing.

Lýkos couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. It wasn't just the fact that Ladybug was right in front of him, but also that they had quite a few onlookers. He could only imagine what they were saying, and Lýkos is sure that if he really wanted to know, he definitely could find out.

"Your suit is pretty interesting. It's the first time I've met a wolf miraculous," Ladybug said with a smile, "I heard you're from Greece?"

Lýkos tensed up, "Y-Yes," he said with a nod. Kurfee was from Greece after all. He wondered just how much Chat Noir had told her about him and Kurfee.

"I'm interested in seeing how your powers work," Ladybug admitted, "Especially after the news."

Chat Noir grinned widely, he wrapped an arm once again around Lýkos's shoulders, "He was pretty cool. He saved Rose after she was infected."

Ladybug raised an eyebrow, "Infected?"

"It's a working title," Chat Noir shrugged.

"About that, I was hoping you would give me more details on what happened. It's a bit worrisome that something is happening in our city once more," Ladybug sighed softly, she closed her eyes briefly with her finger tapping on her arm. She was clearly putting the information together in her mind.

Lýkos gulped, "There's not much to tell. Rose was…infected by this person…it was like she was a whole new person. The opposite of being Akumatized, I think? She had super strength, and she was suddenly animal-like. Hissing and-and growling…" he trailed off with wince. A shiver ran through his body as he thought about the infected Rose.

"She wasn't transformed into some sort of superhero, villain figure?" Ladybug asked thoughtfully.

Chat Noir spoke this time, "No. It really wasn't like being Akumatized. It was…pretty disturbing honestly."

Ladybug put a hand to her chin, "I've seen a photo on the news about it, and I have to say, Rose did look sickly. I'm very concerned about this, Paris has been silent for weeks and now, suddenly this happens?"

Lýkos gulped. He had a feeling Ladybug was suggesting it was his fault. That everything was happening now because of him. That him becoming a hero, meeting Kurfee, was the trigger for everything happening.

He turned his head away when Ladybug directed her line questioning to the cat hero next to him. It was probably because she felt Lýkos was becoming too nervous around her. Lýkos's eyes awkwardly lowered the to the growing crowd of people below them. He gulped sheepishly upon seeing them still looking up at them, yelling and waving in hopes of gaining Ladybug or Chat Noir's attention. They had their phones out and were either recording or snapping photos.

Nobody was there for him…not anymore. Lýkos winced at the thought, remembering how they had reacted to him not wanting to be a hero.

He found himself turning from the crowd to the waters below. Watching the waves roll back and forth, crashing against the pillars of the bridge. Seagulls flocked across the waters surface, letting out the familiar sounds of shrieks as they went. It was rather cal ming, and Lýkos felt a blank appear in the pit of his stomach upon hearing it. He had forgotten what it sounded like, what water sounded like…he could feel his face heating up and just as his eyes was beginning to swell up with tears, he noticed something.

Something was moving vastly underneath the waters surface.

Lýkos blinked away the tears as he watched the thing. It was moving so fast through the water. What type of fish moved like that? He could even see the folds of the water moving it.

"Um," Lýkos began, glancing back at the two heroes next to him.

"You've been skiving your patrol, twice now," Ladybug said with her arms crossed.

Chat Noir waved her off, "I've already apologized."

Ladybug shook her head, "I know everyone hasn't been too fond of my new patrol schedule, but it's important. Yes, there hasn't been any miraculous trouble around but there is still just the normal, run of the mill, trouble we have to keep an eye out for."

Lýkos awkwardly shifted, he kept glancing down at the fast waves of the thing moving and then back up at the two heroes next to him. He gulped, and felt something run up his spin upon seeing the thing in the water suddenly began to advance towards the bridge. The sound of slamming water around the moving thing echoed in his ears clearly.

"H-Hey," he tried again.

"Remember last week?" Ladybug pressed, "The Mardos was broken into near our patrol routes."

"Yeah, they stole everything except soap, shower gel, towels and deodorant. Dirty Bastards," Chat Noir smirked.

"Chat," Ladybug sighed.

"I get it, I get it," Chat Noir groaned, "We have to pull our weight more. Even petty crimes is something we should be looking out for."

Lýkos inched closer to the edge of the bridge roof he was on. He arched forward, watching the thing. It looked much bigger then he had originally thought, now it was closer. He stared before his eyes widened in realization.

"Ladybug?" he called.

Lýkos tried to gain the heroes attention but for some reason, his voice was hardly louder then a whisper. Neither superhero looked like they had heard him. The two kept talking, well disagreeing, on patrol. A shiver ran through his body, and made his legs buckle underneath him weakly. Whatever was in the water was fast approaching, and nobody else seemed to have noticed.

"Chat Noir!" he found himself saying loudly. He even grabbing his elbow and tugging on it to finally have his attention.

Before Lýkos even had the chance to point of the creature in the water to the two heroes, a loud ear shattering crash erupted through the bridge. The sound an object, like the bridge, would make when it was impacted by something big. The bridge shook, vibrated and the growing crowd upon the bridge let out screams, and gasps of fear.

Lýkos's eyes widened. He felt his body sinking, and suddenly his body was flopping backward. Lýkos opened his mouth, as if to cry or scream, or anything, but nothing came out. Instead, Lýkos was rapidly falling through the air.

The jerk of the impact was more then enough to send poor Lýkos flying over the edge of the bridge.

The wind was pulling at his hair, it stung a lot. The faster Lýkos found himself plummeting towards the water below, the more Lýkos's heart raced with fear. Just as he was about to hit the water surface, his body jerked backward and he came to a stop.

"Lýkos!" Ladybug's familiar voice called from above him.

Lýkos hanged limply for a few seconds before he arched his head back. A shiny red and black polka dotted yoyo was wrapped tightly around his ankle, holding him above the water. Definitely Ladybug's handiwork.

"Lýkos, are you alright?" Chat Noir's voice echoed down after Ladybugs.

Lýkos opened, but then shut his mouth. His blood was rushing to his head, and beginning to make him feel dizzy. He tried to breathe in to calm himself, but what really terrified Lýkos was the waves of a creature circling below him. Like whatever it was, was circling it's prey. He could easily imagine what type of dangerous creature that was. He cursed the late nights where he watched 'top 10 mythical creatures that could still be alive today in Paris'.

There was no records of Megalodons in Paris…

"Lýkos?"

Said hero shook his head. The blood was beginning to rush to the top of his head, or, well bottom he supposed. He tried to arch his body, to look back up at the bridge where Ladybug and Chat Noir stood.

"I-I'm alright," he called back.

However, as soon as he voiced the words, he heard loud gushing sounds of water. Immediately he returned his attention to the swirling creature below. The rolling waves had begun to move quickly, the creature seeming to circle around the area he was hanging from. It took him a full 2 minutes before his heart skipped a beat, and jumped right into his throat.

"P-Pull me up! Pull me up!" he squealed loudly, trying to swing out of the way.

The creature burst out of the water. It moved fast, and almost snapped poor Lýkos's head right off. It was out for barely three seconds before it slammed back into the rolling waves. Lýkos found himself being jerked upward. His body ripping through the air, making his skin twitch as he was twirled upside-down.

Lýkos let out a breathless cry. His eyes widened before he clenched them shut, fully expecting himself to slam painfully into the bridge…only, he found himself falling into arms instead.

"Ha, got yah!" C hat Noir grinned widenly, "Did you really think I'd drop you into the water? It's known fact that puppies don't like water."

Puppies? Lýkos bites his bottom lip, and shook his head, "It's a shark! A shark, er, man…or woman….um, shark-human?" he murmured out thoughtfully, even scratching awkwardly at his head.

"Well which one is it?" Chat Noir asked, clocking his head, "Man or woman, this is very important."

Lýkos rolled his eyes. He had a feeling the cat hero was making fun of him, so he did what any reasonable person in his situation would do. Lýkos lightly shoved his hand into the heroes face, and kicked his legs to arch himself out of the arms. He stumbled a little but was able to gain his balance.

"Ah, okay, I deserved that," Chat Nori said, rubbing his face with a grunt.

Ladybug shook her head, "Lýkos, what did you say you saw?" she asked, glancing down at the water once more. The creature was back under the waves, furiously moving back and forth.

Lýkos breathed in sharply. He tried to compose himself, but embarrassment crawled to the surface. His face flushed, and he nervously coughed into his hand as he made his way up to Ladybug's side.

"…A…half shark, half human…" Lýkos explained.

Chat Noir hummed, a hand to his chin, "You think it's another infected person?"

Ladybug opened her mouth to speak when suddenly the bridge let out a loud shriek. It began to slowly anchor forward, people having to arch their bodies to prevent themselves from going straight over the edge. The heroes found themselves tumbling along with the bridge, holding themselves to the rail of the bridge.

The polka dot hero spun around and she threw her trusty yoyo through the air, wrapping around the unlucky falling bystanders. She pulled them back, and winced as her body strained from having to hold at least eight unfortunate bystanders.

"I got you all," she yelled over to them.

"It's chewing into the bridge's base pillar," Chat Noir huffed, using his staff to keep himself upon the bridge, "It's gonna bring the bridge down."

Lýkos ran his eyes along the bridge, he could tell the bridge was slowly crumbling apart. Large cracks was crawling through the bridge. Lýkos returned his attention to the thrashing shark man in the water.

"W-We have to get it out of the water," he said.

Chat Noir clicked his tongue, "And how are we gonna do that?"

Lýkos bit down harshly on his bottom lip. Chat Noir was right, how in the world were they gonna get this shark human out of the water?

Ladybug drops down between the two, "We need bait."

"Bait?" Chat Noir asked.

"You saw how they reacted to Lýkos hanging above them. At least they're aware that food is nearby," Ladybug explained, while she snapped her fingers with a smile.

"…please don't reference me being food…" Lýkos mumbled.

Ladybug hummed as she drawn her trusty yoyo once more. She twisted it between her fingers thoughtfully, before suddenly leaping off the bridge rail.

"Ladybug!"

The female hero, and leader of the defenders of Paris arched her body. She looked like she was about to dive into the dangerous waves below, before suddenly throwing her yoyo out. The yoyo wrapped around one of the bridge rail beams, and she was able to swing across the water surface, running the tip of her foot along the surface. It was more then enough to send the poor fish person crazy.

Lýkos watched as the shark human erupted from the waters once again. This time, they snapped desperately up at Ladybug but missed as she swung quickly back up to the bridge.

"We need something to catch it," Chat Noir said.

Lýkos swallowed a thick lump, "Like a net!" he gasped out.

"A net?" Chat Noir repeated, an eyebrow raised, "And where can we get a net big enough for that?"

Lýkos chewed the inside of his mouth. He reached for the stylus still strapped to his hip, and held it out thoughtfully. He was still learning how to use the weapon, having only ever used it once to save Rose and rebuild the street she had unwillingly destroyed. He pressed his lips together, and clenched the stylus, glancing back down at the shark human. He wondered if he could draw a net? Could he do it fast enough….? Would it even work?

"I have an idea," he said after a moment.

Chat Noir's ears twitched upward thoughtfully, "What do I have to do?"

"What do we have to do!" Ladybug added with a hand on her hip.

Lýkos felt something swell in his chest. Both heroes was looking to him, and not writing him off. Disregarding whatever idea he had, like he had grown up with.

"…Um, Ladybug can you swing again?" he asked. He didn't want to ask if she could play bait again.

Ladybug's eyes flared with determination. She nodded her head, her pigtails bouncing behind her shoulders. She then arched back, and held the yoyo tightly.

"Just tell me when," she said.

The wolf hero nodded his head nervously, "Chat Noir, just…get ready. You'll be our m-muscle," he said.

Lýkos pressed his fingers down upon the panels of the stylus. He held it up, and watched as the familiar orange lines flickered in front of his face. It formed a screen, with the same Photoshop-like layout. He directed it down to the bridge below.

"O-Okay, now Ladybug!" he called out.

Without so much of a word, Ladybug dived down. She twisted through the air, and quickly used her yoyo to swing back up. Her body moving quickly, and luring out the shark-human once again. The shark-human erupted through the air once more, it's jaw wide and ready to snap at Ladybug but missing.

While this was happening, Lýkos tried to draw the net as fast as he could. His fingers twitched and shook as he formed the net. It slowly appeared with glowing orange lines, but as the shark human fell back, it's body caused the net to shatter. The orange glowing lines exploded, and Lýkos had to shield himself with his arm.

As soon as the shark hit the water, it thrashed about before returning to chewing through the bridge's main pillar. Thankfully, Ladybug had already cleared the bridge of any bystanders so it was only the heroes in danger of losing their lives.

Lýkos's legs buckled. He tried to take a step back, while clenching the stylus. He had failed. He couldn't form the net. What use was he?

"Lýkos," Chat Noir said, "You can do this."

He twisted his lips together, Lýkos shuddered while looking at Chat Noir. His heart was beating so harshly in his chest, racing with fear and worry. He hiccupped quietly, and glanced back down at the shark. He wondered what poor person had been caught up in a web this time?

"B-But…" Lýkos began, his voice shaking.

Chat Noir smiled comfortingly. He put a hand onto the shorter hero's shoulder, "You can do this, Lýkos. You know you can."

Lýkos bit his bottom lip and looked back down at the infected person. He had a feeling it was a male, an infected man most likely. His heart was beating so loudly that it echoed through his head. He held his stylus tightly, and finally summoned up the transparent orange screen once more.

"Okay…let's try this again," he whispered to himself.

Chat Noir had heard, and grinned widely. He looked back at Ladybug and waved his clawed hand, gesturing for her to try and lure the infected man out once again. The polka dot woman nodded in return, she then flipped back through the air with her yoyo.

"Okay, here he comes," Chat Noir said.

Lýkos let out a small gasp, watching as the infected shark man thrashed back through the water. This time, he was much more closer to snapping off Ladybug's ankle. However, she was much faster and was able to get to safety in time.

He formed the glowing, orange lines as quickly as possible. It was hard, knowing he only had a small time frame to get the sketch done…as an artist, he knew for a fact that the better the piece was, the longer one spent on it. Lýkos just didn't have the time to make it look amazing, but he had enough time to sketch out the basic form of the net. His heart skipped a beat as the net appeared below the bridge, hanging from the pillars.

The infected shark man flipped up and down, as if his body had landed on a trampoline. The net vibrated, but held the man loosely. At least he hadn't shattered the net this time, and fallen back into the water. He floundered about on the net.

"Alright!" Chat Noir cheered, "You did it!"

"I did…" Lýkos said softly.

Chat Noir grinned widely and lightly patted Lýkos's shoulder, "Come on. Let's purify him!" he called out. The cat male leapt forward and did a fancy somersault through the air.

Lýkos sighed nervously. A shiver ran through his spine, and he shakily followed after Chat Noir. He didn't do anything fancy like Chat Noir did, no fancy somersault, just a normal jump. He landed not so gracefully either, his legs shaking a little as if he was about to fall straight through the netting, but thankfully he didn't.

"Lýkos!" Chat Noir suddenly yelled.

The wolf hero spun his head in time see a mouth of teeth aiming straight for his face. His eyes widened, and he backed away from the gawping mouth. The infected shark-man advanced with angry snaps and loud hisses, looking like it was eager to take a bite of Lýkos's face.

Right as the shark was about to rip his face off, the polka dot yoyo moved faster than light and bound the shark-man tightly. It wrapped tightly around shark man's middle, binding his arms to his sides and even yanking him back to the netting. Ladybug arched herself, holding the infected shark man back.

"Feisty baby shark," Chat Noir hummed.

Lýkos ran a hand through his bright white, red tipped hair. He pulled his stylus to his chest, as he ran his eyes along the infected man's face. Now that he was out of the water, Lýkos could tell the shark human was definitely a man. He could even see the remains of a business suit. It was pretty much a man with a sharks head. There was a large fin on his back, while his hands and feet was webbed and rather large. Much bigger then a normal male's limbs. Just like Rose, the fish man had web like marks across it's shark face.

The wolf hero stepped closer, letting out a shaky breath when the shark snapped at him. This made Chat Noir use his trusty staff to keep the shark man from snapping his face off. If Lýkos was going to save this poor man, he might as well do it now! And fast, both Ladybug and Chat Noir looked like they were becoming tired.

Inhaling deeply, Lýkos firmly grabbed the shark man's face. The staff stuck in the large, gaping mouth, prevented it from biting. Lýkos's stylus began to glow a bright orange colour as he pressed the tip against the webbing tattoo on the shark's leathery, rubbery face. That very same unknown symbol formed above the man's face, the webbing became less like a drawing and real web upon the face. It lifted from his face, and Lýkos was able to pull it from the shark skin.

The glowing orange of the stylus changed to white, and Lýkos was able to contain the web once more. It didn't take long for the web to disappear in a flash of familiar sparks. The shark man's body began to fade, like ink draining down his body, returning it to a much more human like form. No fin in sight. Only a poor, over sized man who looked down on his luck.

"Oh, there he goes," Ladybug gasped, catching the man as he began to drop, "Well done Lýkos!"

A flush appeared across Lýkos's face. He looked back up at the bridge, and watched as the orange-lined screen reappeared. With the stylus, he began to outline where the bridge was supposed to unbroken, undestroyed. As he did so, the cracks and broken debris began to reform. Small stones and debris raised from the vast waters and re-joined into their proper places. It took barely five minutes for the bridge to return to how it was. The wires of his suit flashing orange and white before fading.

"Whoa," Chat Noir breathed out, "I don't think I'll ever get used to that."

Lýkos rolled his eyes, "It's n-nothing special. Ladybug's creation ability is so much more amazing," he said with a small smile. He remembered seeing Ladybug do that before he was Akumaized. It was beautiful, and he was a little disappointed that he had never got to see the ladybugs in first person.

"I think your ability is just as amazing, Lýkos," Ladybug chimed kindly, "I'm pretty impressed."

"I think I'm gonna puke," the man grumbled quietly.

Ladybug let out a soft sound from the back of her throat, and she gently rubbed the back of the back. She then tightened an arm around him, and threw her yoyo up, easily bringing both herself and the man back up to the bridge. As soon as the man's feet touched the bridge, he doubled over and threw up. Poor Ladybug gasped, and tried her best to help him.

"Poor guy," she said.

Chat Noir started after her with a little grin, "Justice is a dish best served cold because if it were served warm, it would just be water," he chimed playfully.

"That's corny," Lýkos said, a small smile crawling across his lips.

"But it made you smile," Chat Noir winked, then twisted his staff around. He held his hand out to the wolf superhero, "Shall we?"

Lýkos let out a soft chuckle and took the offered hand. They both used the net to leap up to the bridge. He peered back over his shoulder, and felt his lips twitch as the net faded away with orange sparkles.

"Did the bridge always have those white lines?" Chat Noir questioned.

Lýkos looked back down at the bridge thoughtfully. True to the cat's word, there was white lines outlining the brick. It took him a moment to realize the lines were outlining something more important.

"They're the lines from my…my…thing," he said in surprise.

Ladybug finally returned to them, "It outlines the damage of the bridge. It's the same on the street where Rose had been infected."

Lýkos felt a pang of disappointment. He hadn't fully fixed the damage like he had originally thought. It made sense though, he wasn't Ladybug. He couldn't return everything to normal like she could, he didn't have the amazing, powerful ladybugs that recreated everything. Instead it was like he had super glued it all back together again.

Chat Noir threw his arm around Lýkos's shoulder, "I still think it was pretty cool! Badass! My lil wolfie is so powerful!" he said with a cheeky grin.

Ladybug snorted and rolled her eyes, but she had a smile, "Yes, I have to agree. Lýkos, you're very powerful but with some guidance, you can sharpen your skills."

"Um…thank you?" Lýkos said sheepishly.

His face darkened with a blush that crawled to the top of his ears as he even heard the murmurs of the same bystanders returning eagerly to the bridge. Ladybug and Chat Noir's fans. He wondered what they would say this time?

"Lýkos," Ladybug began, "I know you don't wish to be a hero, or join our team yet. But perhaps we can come to an arrangement? We can't have this person loose on Paris. Especially if they're able to infect people in such ways. So what do you say? Can we come to an agreement?"

Lýkos awkwardly shifted, "An…agreement?"

"Yeah," Ladybug smiled with a nod of the head, "Until this…spider…person is caught, will you work with us to prevent them from bringing even more danger to Paris?"

Lýkos blinked once, and then twice. He felt something in his chest as he stared at the hero who he had looked up to for some time. He knew she knew who he was, and clearly she wasn't holding a grudge against him for what he had done as The Evillustrator. The deal she was offering did sound reasonable, but…

"Don't worry. Once we've captured this guy, and if you still don't want to be a hero," Ladybug began, "We'll leave you alone. We'll let you go, and won't bother you anymore."

"…R-really?" Lýkos asked. For some reason, he had this thought of being stalked by the superheroes, "You will all leave me alone?"

Ladybug chuckled, "That's correct. But up until we've captured this threat, you have to work with us."

Lýkos was silent. He pressed his lips firmly together, and puffed his cheeks out, "Even him?" he finally asked.

Chat Noir made a sound, "Hey now! It almost sounds like you don't like meow!" he teased with that dazzling smile once more.

"Yes," Ladybug laughed. She sent the cat hero a look as she spoke, "Yes. I'll make sure Chat Noir will leave you alone too."

Chat Noir gasped, a hand to his chest, "I can't make any promises!"

"Chat!" Ladybug warned.

"But I'll try," the cat snorted.

Ladybug stared him down before he finally sighed and nodded. She then smiled and returned her attention to Lýkos, and held a hand out.

"So?" she said, "Do we have a deal?"

Lýkos stared at the red gloved hand. He bites back a soft hiccup, it was a good idea, he guessed. Something in his chest told him it might be a good idea to have the opportunity to learn from the other, more experienced superheroes. An opportunity to feel what it was like to be a hero who protected people, and if he still didn't want to be a hero, he can…just walk away…right?

But wouldn't it be dangerous? If infected Rose and the infected shark man was anything to go by, it could, and will become very dangerous, but it will be worth it. He supposed it will be worth it.

"Okay," he finally said, grabbing Ladybug's hand with a weak, nervous smile on his lips.

Ladybug grinned, "Great! So you can go on patrol with Chat Noir tonight!"

"Wait!" Chat Noir gasped, "I don't have patrol tonight?"

Ladybug levelled the cat with a glare, "Well, you've been skipping out on your patrol for the past couple of weeks after all. This is your punishment."

"Aw man," Chat Noir sighed.

Lýkos swallowed a thick lump. He was nervous as hell, and couldn't believe he had agreed to this. He almost wanted to go back on his agreement with the one and only Ladybug. He knew this was going to be all over Paris by the evening.

~#~#~#~#~

Lýkos laid still on his bed. He was panting a little, trying to catch his breath. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous had began to beep, signalling their leave. Lýkos, himself, had quickly ran home before anybody could corner him. He had only just gotten home, beating his mother back home as she was still doing her errands.

His hearing aids beeped loudly, before his body flashed. Nathaniel groaned to himself, pressing the palms of his hands into his eyes as everything he had been able to hear faded along with the flash. It will still take some time for him to get used to losing his hearing like that.

"Nat?" Kurfee whimpered, laying on his chest, "Are you alright?"

"Hmm," Nathaniel smiled meekly, "I'm alright Kurfee. Just…tired."

Kurfee makes a soft 'oh'. He cuddles further into Nathaniel's sweater, "I think…the agreement between you and Ladybug was a good idea."

"I don't know Kurfee," Nathaniel sighed, "It's just…dangerous…"

"But everything will be dangerous," Kurfee said, "We've just gotta look forward, right?"

Nathaniel placed his hand gently over his fuzzy white wolf, "Look forward…" he whispers to himself.

Kurfee had already dozed off but, he supposed, what had happened today had taken a lot out of him too. 

Just as he was about to doze off for a little while, his phone vibrated with a new message. With one eye open, Nathaniel reached for it.

'Don't worry Wolfie. I'll protect you if anything happens!'


End file.
